A Possibility of Evil: Book 2
by Arrowfoot the Dragon
Summary: A lot has happened to Miyuki since her dragon chara hatched a few months ago. But as new questions arise and Easter starts to ask more and more of her, her loyalties will yet again be tested. Can she keep both her friendships and her power?
1. Christmas and Ginger

This is the beginning of book 2 of my my story "A Possibility of Evil." If you have not yet read book 1, then I _highly _encourage you to go to my profile, find book 1, and read it. Because you need to read book 1 in order to read book 2, since it's really all the same story. I simply split it up into books to make the length a bit more manageable.

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This chapter is dedicated to Kitty Obsessive Disorder, because she gave me the idea for the character that's introduced in this chapter. Thanks so much!

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In spite of myself, I woke up excited. I mean, what kid wouldn't be excited on Christmas morning? The presents, the snow, the fun with the family… it seemed like everything about the holiday was geared toward giving children the best day they could have.

Unfortunately for me, I wasn't expecting any of this. My parents didn't care enough about me to get me presents; I could run away from home and my parents still wouldn't care. Though it's not their fault; _I _was the one who had hypnotized them into not caring about me. And though that had been a couple of months ago, it seemed to be holding as strong as ever. I suppose I'm actually kind of glad in one sense – I never really enjoyed having 'quality time' with my mom and dad on Christmas. Still, a part of me missed it.

Oh, and when I looked out the window – no snow. So much for a great Christmas.

My hopes slowly dropped with each step I took down the stairs. Still, it wasn't all bad. There was still the party with the Guardians to look forward to. That, combined with the fact that Easter still hadn't contacted me, helped to raise my mood some. Azami floated sleepily onto my head as I made my way into the living room. She seemed bored, and I didn't blame her. I'd already warned her that Christmas probably wouldn't be all that great for me, and she seemed to be taking me at my word.

I looked under our Christmas tree and saw a few presents. Most were from my mom to my dad and vice-versa. I did get a gift, though the box was slightly beat up; my aunt and uncle in the United States had sent it through the mail. They were about the only extended family I had. But that had arrived a couple days before, so it wasn't a big surprise.

One present in particular caught my eye. It practically grabbed my attention, and I forgot about any of the other presents. It was a moderately sized pet carrier, sitting in front of all the other presents. And if that wasn't interesting enough, did I mention that it had been meowing since I walked into the room?

I reached up and nudged Azami to get her attention.

"What is it?" she asked, annoyed at being disturbed.

"Why don't you open your eyes and look for yourself?" I replied mockingly as I knelt down to look through the wire door. My gaze was met by two golden cat eyes, wide with curiosity.

"Who is it for? And who gave it?" I wondered aloud, looking all over the carrier for some sort of explanation. But there was no to/from card anywhere on it.

I looked back in on the cat, who had been meowing for attention this whole time. As it turned to look at me, I heard a jingling and I realized that it had a collar with a nametag. I tried to read it through the bars, but the cat moved too much for me to get a good look. The cat itself had an interesting coloration that I'd never seen before. It was sort of like a calico, but it didn't have any white on it. It was just sort of a patchwork of orangish fur and black fur. (For a picture of this, got to my profile)

I wanted to take it out so I could get a better look, but hesitated. I decided to get my parents in here – one of them had probably gotten it for the other, and just not put any label showing who the gift was to. Then again, neither of them had ever really been animal lovers. I found them in the kitchen. My mom was drinking some coffee, and my dad looked like he was about to make breakfast.

"Can you guys come in here?" I said, more like a command than a question. They just sort of stared at me for a moment as if they didn't know how to react, then they followed me into the living room. I'd gotten used to this side effect of the hypnotism, though I have to admit that it's still somewhat awkward at times.

"So who got the cat?" I asked as soon as they were in the room, gesturing to the pet carrier.

"What! A cat!?" my mom gasped, showing more emotion than I'd seen in a while. Whether or not she cared about me, she apparently _did _care about having a cat in her house. She looked accusingly at my father, but he seemed just as bewildered as she was.

"Go ahead and open it," Azami suggested. "Maybe there's some sort of letter inside."

I sat down on the floor opened the door of the carrier. The cat immediately sprang out, jumping onto my lap. It began to rub its head and shoulders against my stomach. I laughed at it's enthusiastic drive for attention.

"It's very… affectionate." I said, still laughing a bit. Now that it was out in the open, I could see that it was still fairly young, with a slim build and smooth fur. I tried to get it to hold still so that I could look at the nametag that was dangling from its purple collar, but it just kept on rubbing against me. Exasperated, I grabbed on to the scruff of its neck. It meowed in protest, but instinctually went limp.

"Ginger…" I muttered, reading the front of the nametag. "Is that your name? Ginger?" The cat continued to meow uncomfortably. I flipped the nametag over and saw my address, with my name as the owner.

"It's a tortoiseshell." My mom stated as I sat the cat back down. It went right back to rubbing against me, and I went ahead and started stroking it.

"A tortoiseshell?" I asked.

"That's the coloration," my mom explained. "But how did it get here? I'm not sure if I like the idea of a cat in the house."

As I petted it, my hand brushed against something. I looked to see that a piece of paper had been tucked underneath the collar. The cat hardly paused as I pulled it out and unfolded it. It was a note, written on a small sheet of paper. The handwriting was neat and somewhat stylized, in a way that made it look like a girl had written it. It looked vaguely familiar… but I shoved the feeling of recollection aside as I read the note out loud.

"Dear Miyuki," it began. "I hope you like your present! Her name is Ginger. You'll find supplies for her out in the garage. She's already litter box trained, and she's got all her vaccinations. Please keep an eye on her, and she just might help you out as well! I'll hopefully be seeing you sometime soon!" There was no signature to show who it was that had given the cat, which bothered me. Who would possibly give me a cat? For that matter, who could get into my house and garage?

I picked up Ginger and walked off to the garage, to see if what the note said was true. Ginger purred contentedly all the way there. I opened the door and, to my surprise, the note really _had _been true. A litter box, cat litter, a bag of hard cat food, a bowl for food and another for water… all of it was there. There were even a couple of cat toys and a scratching post.

I went back to the living room, and finally the impact of it all sank in. _I've got a pet! I've always kind of wanted one, and Ginger seems perfect. _I petted the cat in my arms as I thought this, and she purred even louder. She seemed to be a glutton for attention. _Even if the circumstances are kind of weird, this is awesome! And I thought I wasn't going to get anything interesting for Christmas. I wonder what Azami thinks of it?_

I glanced up at my chara. She was looking curiously at the cat, but I couldn't tell what she thought about it.

"So can I keep it?" I asked my parents as I made it back into the living room.

"What!?" Azami shouted. "You want to keep that thing?" Ginger glance up at Azami, and I could have sworn that I saw something like smugness in the cat's eyes. Then again, I was probably just imagining it. Cats don't have expressions, and even if they do, I doubt I'd be able to tell what they were.

My mom, unaware of Azami, seemed to be thinking hard. It seemed like she was conflicted between her worry about having an animal in the house and her hypnotized lack-of-care about everything that concerns me.

"Come on, mom." I urged. "All the supplies to get started are in the garage. I'll take care of her – you'll hardly even realize she's here."

She still seemed conflicted, but the hypnotism won out. "I guess it's okay, as long as you take care of it…"

"Dad?" I asked, making sure he was okay with it. Not like I really needed their approval – I would keep it even if my parents said no.

"It's fine with me." He said. The cat purred louder, as if she knew what was going on. Suddenly, I got a hard hit on the head from Azami's tail. I glared at her.

"We need to talk." She said, before flying up the stairs to go to my room. I followed, with the cat still in my arms.

Once I made it to my room, I closed the door and put Ginger on the ground. She started rubbing against my legs, nearly tripping me as I went to sit down on my bed. Ginger jumped up beside me, and I put her on my lap and started petting her. She relaxed and purred contentedly.

"What in the world are you doing? Why do you want a pet?" Azami asked incredulously.

It seemed like an odd question to me. I'd never really thought about why I would want a pet. "I dunno. She's cute and soft, and she seems like she'll be fun to have around."

"Cute and soft?!" Azami exclaimed. "Do you realize just how girly you sound right now? Dragons don't care about cute and soft!"

I frowned slightly, and paused. Ginger immediately noticed, and gave a plaintive meow for me to continue. I started stroking her again, and she closed her eyes as she relaxed.

"Look at that!" Azami said. "You're practically a slave to it already! It simply meows, and you automatically pet it!"

"Aw, come on." I pouted playfully. "You play with Yoru – I don't see why I can't have a cat to play with."

"You've got Ikuto." Azami said, a mischievous glint entering her eye.

My gaze hardened. "Ikuto doesn't count."

Azami just grinned at my defensive response.

I glared harder, then said, "I think you're just jealous. Maybe you think that I'll forget about you now that I've got a much cuter and much more friendly companion." I got a couple good whacks for that comment, which I guess I deserved. Then I continued, "Anyway, the decision is already made. I'm going to keep her. Plus, maybe I'll find out more about this mysterious gift-giver if I keep her around. Don't you think it seems odd that whoever it was could get into my house? And doesn't it seem like a huge coincidence that this person picked out my favorite color of purple for the collar?"

"Jealous! Of a cat!?" Azami said, ignoring the rest of what I had said. I hadn't _really_ been thinking that she was jealous, but her reaction seemed to state otherwise.

"Well, you certainly seem very defensive…" I said. "Perhaps I've hit the truth?" I smiled tauntingly.

She turned her back on me. "Just don't blame me when you wake up in the middle of the night with a hairball on your face."

I smiled, but decided to let her end the argument. I walked back down the stairs, with Ginger in my arms. Azami followed behind me, looking like she was still in a bad mood. My parents were opening their presents down in the living room. They acted normal now, like they always did when they weren't talking to me or talking about me. I ignored them and they ignored me as I sat down on the floor to open my only other present. I set Ginger down, and she began to curiously explore the presents under the Christmas tree, never straying far away from me.

My aunt and uncle had sent me a couple of movies. Of course, they were in English, so I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to enjoy them – it'd been over a year since I'd had to speak or understand the language fluently. A letter that came with it said that they were good movies, and it said that all of my family over there was hoping I'd come back soon. There was also a recent photograph showing their whole family – my aunt, uncle, and their two young children.

My parents still weren't paying attention to me, so I ignored them as I took the gift up to my room. Ginger followed, her tail waving back and forth as she examined her new home. She had enough sense to stay out of the way of my feet this time, so that I could walk unhindered. Azami still seemed grumpy, and didn't say anything.

Next I started lugging all the supplies from the garage up the stairs. I put the litter box in one corner of my bathroom, and in another corner I put the food and water bowls. I put the bags of food and litter in the hallway closet while she ate her food, and I lugged the scratching post into my room.

Once that was all done, I sat in the chair in my room. Ginger jumped on to my lap, and I started petting her. Azami sat down on top of my desk, next to the pile of 'jewels' that I'd gotten her yesterday. We sat like this for a while. I was lost in my thoughts, trying to figure out who had written the note that went with my cat. The handwriting seemed so familiar… And whether it was from the feminine handwriting or my feeling of recognition, it definitely seemed like the unknown person was a girl.

"Who sent you here, Ginger?" I asked, lifting the tortoiseshell cat up until she was eye level. She stayed limp, looking into my eyes and tilting her head inquisitively. "Do I know her? How did she get into my house? And why does she hope to see me soon?"

The cat meowed, and for a moment it did seem like she was trying to answer. Of course, I can't understand cat language, if there is such a thing.

"What did the letter mean about you helping me out if I took care of you?" I continued, looking into the cat's golden eyes as if they might hold the answers. "Was that just a joke?"

Ginger meowed again, and I put her down. It was almost like she was actually understanding me, but even if this was true, I couldn't understand her.

"You do realize you're talking to a cat," Azami mocked, though her tone was a bit friendlier than it had been earlier this morning.

"At least I'm not guarding a pile of cheap rocks." I retorted jokingly. Azami ignored the comment, and instead floated up to Ginger's face.

"I can't say I'm very impressed," Azami said critically. "I mean, look at it's fur – it looks all mottled. Half of it's face is mostly black, and the other half is mostly orange. It looks messy."

"Well, the pattern is unique," I admitted. "But I like it."

Suddenly, one of Ginger's paws darted towards Azami, batting her away like she was a toy. And yet, she didn't chase after Azami after hitting her, which puzzled me – if the cat _was _playing with Azami, wouldn't Ginger chase after her like she would a regular toy?

Azami was furious, and I started cracking up. It reminded me of the time when Azami had been in her egg and had bounced into Kiseki when he had called her a 'commoner.' In fact, a satisfied look seemed to be plastered on my cat's face. Then again, that was probably my imagination again. Azami flew towards Ginger, but I grabbed my chara before she could do anything.

"You've got to admit, you had that coming," I said. "No cat of mine is going to let herself be called messy. Isn't that right, Ginger?" Ginger looked up at me and flexed her claws, as if agreeing. I laughed again and let Azami go. No doubt about it – this was going to be one interesting pet.

* * *

"No, you've got to stay here. Okay?" I said, nudging Ginger back inside with my foot and closing the door. I was heading off to the Guardians' Christmas party, and I didn't want to worry about my new cat tagging along. I had all of the gifts I had bought in a bag, along with some store-bought snacks for the party.

I talked with Azami as I walked, but I'd hardly gone a block when I felt something small and furry brush up against my leg. I looked down to see Ginger, walking right beside me.

"How'd you get out?" I asked, slightly annoyed. I walked back to the house, opened the door, and put her back inside. "Now you stay here. Get it?" I shouted into the house, "Mom! Dad! Don't let Ginger out!" Then I closed the door and went on my way again.

I'd barely gone half a block when I felt movement once more. Yet again, it was Ginger. I scowled a bit, but more out of interest than anger. How in the world did this cat keep on getting out?

"Did you at least use the litter box before you came out here? I don't want to have to deal with you digging up some part of the Royal Garden to relieve yourself." I said.

"Nya~" The cat meowed, before flicking her tail and heading back to the house.

_Is she really going to do what I think she's going to do? _I wondered, following her back. I opened the door for her, and she went straight up the stairs, into the bathroom, and to her litter box. I shook my head in amazement and left her in the house again, knowing that she'd catch up.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late!" I said as I opened the door to the Royal Garden. "I had a bit of… er, trouble."

"Trouble?" Tadase asked as I walked up to the table. "Is everything all right, Yamada-san?"

I reassured him, "Yeah, everything is-"

"KITTY!!!!" Yaya suddenly shouted, being the first one to spot Ginger who was walking just behind me. Yaya dashed forward and picked Ginger up. Rather than squirm away as I had been expecting, Ginger seemed to enjoy the attention.

"A cat?" Nadeshiko asked, smiling.

"Yeah." I said, feeling slightly embarrassed that I brought my cat along to the party. "I got her as a present from someone. I tried to leave her at home, but she kept on getting out of the house somehow and following me. That's why I was a bit late."

"That's okay." Amu said. "I was late, too. I just got here a couple minutes ago."

"So who got you the cat?" Kukai asked. A pang of sadness went through me as I realized that this would probably be the last time I'd get to hang out with Kukai before he started going to another school.

I tried to ignore the thought, and answered, "I don't know. Whoever it was, they didn't leave a name."

"That's weird." Miki commented.

"Who cares?!" Ran shouted. "Let's start the party!"

The party was a big success. There were plenty of snacks and sweets for everyone, and we had a great time. Ginger always managed to have someone petting her, usually either Yaya or me. The gifts I got for everyone went over well – everyone laughed at the present I got for Tadase, and I could tell that Amu absolutely loved the bracelet I got her. Kukai was grateful for the new cleat spikes, Nadeshiko liked her necklace, and Yaya ate almost all of her candy as soon as she got it (for very loud and entertaining results).

I got presents from everyone else as well. Yaya got me (and everyone else) candy. Kukai got me a soccer ball; I'd shown interest in playing before, but I'd never actually owned a ball to practice with. Nadeshiko got me a decorative hair clip (It went perfectly with my hair, even if it can't really serve a practical purpose when my hair is so short). Tadase got me a bracelet with a dragon on it, and Amu got me a small dragon figurine.

The fact that I wouldn't get to see Kukai much anymore still hung at the back of my mind, but for the most part I simply enjoyed what time we had with him tonight. And despite the fact that he would be leaving, I still had my feeling of optimism from yesterday. I was happy about Nikaido's defeat, Easter still hadn't contacted me, and I now had an interesting pet. This year was ending in a great way for me, and I was confident that my luck would continue into next year.

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To those of you who have been reading book 1, welcome back! I'm glad you decided to keep reading! And to those of you who haven't read book 1 yet, read it now! (if you want to~) As I've said many times before, I hope you enjoy the story, and I also hope that you review!


	2. The Letter

A couple days had passed since Christmas, though I really wasn't sure what day it was today – I tend to lose track of time during breaks from school. I'd basically stayed in the house most of that time. It was cold outside, even for me. Plus, I was enjoying giving lavish attention to my new pet. And whether I was petting her or playing with her, Ginger seemed to enjoy it at least ten times as much. As I said before, she was a glutton for attention.

Still, today I really needed to get out and actually do something, rather than just sit around. And I knew exactly what that something was. I already had a great present for Mai, and now would be a great time to visit. She _should_ be back to normal, and I missed her. I wanted to talk to her again, the way she used to be. Not to mention, I wanted to see what her chara was, if it had hatched.

I thought about calling first, but I wanted my visit to be a surprise. Plus, I didn't know how much she would remember, and I wanted to be able to talk to her in person. If she remembered what I said to her about her writing, then maybe she didn't even want to see me again. But though it might be difficult, that kind of thing was better talked about face-to-face. If I tried to talk to her over the phone about killing her dream... That would be like someone breaking up using a text message. Probably unforgivable.

So I made my way through the cold to Mai's house, present in hand. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I soon found Ginger walking by my side, meowing for me to pick her up. She apparently didn't like the chilly wind that was blowing. But I wasn't going to humor her today.

"You shouldn't even come along," I explained, feeling slightly silly that I was talking to a cat as I walked. "You can't come into Mai's house. And even if you could, I wouldn't carry you all the way there. I can't stop you from getting out of the house, but you can't follow me _everywhere._"

I would've sworn that she pouted at these words, her tail swishing back and forth in agitation. But still, she kept following. I sighed; maybe she wasn't as smart as I had previously thought. Still, I had to admire her persistence. I noticed Azami roll her eyes; I don't think she approved of my cat's determined attitude.

It took me about twenty minutes to make it to Mai's house, and all I was thinking by then was how grumpy I would be if she wasn't home. Ginger was still following me, and yet she waited at the end of the walkway as I approached the front door. I looked questioningly at her, and noticed that her fur was puffed up and that she seemed tense.

_Oh yeah, I forgot that Mai has a dog. I wonder if Ginger can smell it or something? Or is she actually listening to what I said earlier, and just showing that she won't try and sneak into the house? _

I shook off the thought and brought my mind to the matter at hand. I knocked on the door, bracing myself for the worst but hoping for the best. Yappy barks sounded from the other side of the door, and I thought I heard someone yell "Coming!" from farther inside. I waited a minute or so, with Azami floating near my shoulder.

Then the door opened to reveal Mai. She immediately smiled upon recognizing me. "Miyuki! It's so great to see you." She talked quietly, like she always did. I was so glad that she was back to normal, but I was also curious as to where her shugo chara was. Maybe it hadn't hatched yet? She continued, "Do you want to come in? My parents aren't here now, but they don't mind if friends come over."

"Sure." I said, acutely aware of how nice it would be to get into the warm house, out of the biting wind.

"So what's up?" Mai asked as we entered her room.

"Well... I wanted to give you this." I said, giving her the small wrapped box I'd been holding in my hands this whole time.

Mai's smile brightened. "Thanks, Miyuki." She said. Then her smile fell a bit. "But now I feel bad... I didn't get you anything."

_If anyone should feel bad, it's me._ I thought, but of course I couldn't say it out loud. "Really, it's okay. I don't need anything. Just go ahead and open it." I insisted.

Mai unwrapped it carefully, trying to avoid completely tearing up the wrapping paper. As she did that, I looked around the room. But there was still no sign of any sort of shugo chara or shugo egg. I looked questioningly to Azami to see if she sensed anyone, but she shook her head. _And she doesn't seem to see Azami, either. I wonder if maybe she went completely back to normal? Maybe the egg just went back to being a regular egg of the heart. Which I guess is okay, but still..._

Once Mai had the box open, she put on her new bracelet and then looked up at me. "I love it. Thank you."

"Your welcome," I said, feeling slightly awkward. I wasn't really used to giving people gifts, and it just felt kind of odd in a way. But it felt nice, as well. Azami stayed silent, looking annoyed; my guess was that dragons didn't normally give gifts to anyone. Dragons probably don't get that warm, fuzzy feeling when they do something nice, either.

"Oh, and..." Mai started, but then she broke off, looking troubled.

"What?" I asked.

"Never mind." Mai said, looking down at the ground. "It's nothing."

"Well, if you're thinking about it, it's obviously _something_." I said, glad to be able to fall into my casual joking with her again. She was always so shy that half the time she would start to say something, then stop because she's worried that it's silly or stupid. I was kind of used to teasing her to get her to talk about what was on her mind. I'd often wondered if she just needed a confidence-boost of some kind, but nothing like that had ever presented itself. Except her writing. But I didn't want to think about that, especially the possibility that she might never get back to that point of dreaming.

"Welll... okay," Mai said. "This may sound silly, but do you know what I was doing for the last week before school got out? It all seems really vague and hazy. Like I was only half awake during that time."

"You did seem kind of out of it that whole week. I thought that maybe you were just getting really tired from school," I lied. "You came to school and everything, but you hardly talked."

"I don't really remember beeing that tired of school..." Mai said. "But you're probably right. Whatever it was, I just kind of woke up during the day on Sunday. And I realized that I couldn't really think of anything from the past week. It seemed weird."

"What do you remember last, before that?" I asked. I really didn't want her to remember what I said to her about her story. But if I could somehow get her to recall her love of writing, then I wanted to. I felt like now it was my duty to make her remember her dream.

"I remember some of the end-of-the-semester activities during the second to last week of school. I remember that week fine. I guess that it must have happened over the weekend. Or what if it's amnesia? What if I seriously hurt myself?" She seemed genuinely worried that something might be wrong with her.

"I'm sure that's not it, unless you have any unexplained bumps on your head." I reassured her. "What about that story you were writing? You seemed pretty excited about that before."

"That thing?" She said. "I guess it was fun while I was writing it. But now... I don't know. Writing just seems like a lot of work, now that I think about it. Plus, that story is finished. I don't have anything else to write."

I started to argue that it could be fun, but stopped myself. If she didn't like to write anymore, I doubted there was much I could do to change her mind. All I could do was hope that she would find her way back to it on her own. "Well, just don't completely close your mind to it." I said. "I think you really have potential as an author, if you put your mind to it."

"Maybe." She said, sounding unconvinced.

I sighed to myself, wishing I could do more to help her egg come back. But I knew there was little else I could do for now. "I'd better be leaving." I said. "It's getting kinda late."

Mai nodded, and we walked out of her room and to the door. Her dog started barking as soon as we opened the door, and I looked out to see that my cat was still out there, despite the cold. Mai didn't seem to notice. "I'll see you when school starts up again," she said as I left.

"Yeah. I'll see you then!" I said, trying to be cheerful despite the freezing wind. _There could at least be some snow to go along with the cold,_ I thought as Mai closed the door and I made my way over to where my cat sat, huddled against the base of a tree.

"Nya~" Ginger meowed accusingly and glared, as if it was my fault that she'd had to sit out in the cold.

"Hey, you're the one who just _had _to come follow me." I retorted.

Azami floated in front of my face. "Miyuki, are you actually having a _conversation_ now?"

"Well, to a normal person, talking to you would look like I was talking to thin air." I defended, though I was feeling stupid that I really _had _been talking to Ginger. "If I can talk to thin air, I think I should be able to talk to a cat."

"Except you know that _I'm _not really thin air, while _that_," Azami gestured to Ginger, "is really a cat."

"Well, maybe that proves just how crazy I've become since having you around." I said. Azami hit me in the forehead, but I ignored it and kept walking. Ginger followed behind - no matter how cold she might be by now, I wasn't going to carry her all the way back home.

As I walked in the door to my house, I saw a piece of paper taped up to the wall of the entranceway, with a sticky note on top of it. This surprised me - this was how my parents normally told me where they were going to be if I was gone when they left to go somewhere. And they had never bothered with it since the hypnotism. I wondered for a moment if it might be from the mysterious gift-giver, but the sticky note said otherwise:

_Nadeshiko came by earlier with this letter. She wanted you to take it to Amu so you both can read it together. _

Well, that was my mom's handwriting. So she must have been the one to talk to Nadeshiko when she came by. But what could the letter be about? Maybe she was going to have another sleepover, while it was still winter break. But if so, why did Amu and I have to read the invitation together? Why not just call each of us to invite us?

"Let's open it," Azami said. "I want to know what's going on."

"I'm not going to open it!" I exclaimed. "Nadeshiko wanted me and Amu to read it together. So we'll read it together."

"That's stupid. It's just a folded-up piece of paper," Azami debated. "We can unfold it, read it, refold it, then give it to Amu. No one will know."

I shook my head as I put my shoes back on, grabbed the note from Nadeshiko, and headed out the door. "I've already done enough to hurt the Guardians, even if they don't know it yet. The least I can do is wait a couple minutes to read a note." Azami seemed annoyed, but didn't bother me any more about it. I closed the door before Ginger could get out again; maybe this time, she'd stay inside. But no luck. Soon enough, she was walking behind me once again. She looked kind of miserable; her tail was nearly dragging on the ground, her head was hung, and her ears were drooping.

"You know, you don't have to follow me everywhere," I said. "You _could _just wait for me. I should be back soon." Azami landed on my head as I finished speaking, dropping herself down a little harder than usual. I think she was still angry that I was talking to a cat. In all truth, her anger just made me want to do it more. It was kind of fun to mess with Azami, after all the times she'd messed with me. At least _I _didn't draw sharpie mustaches, luckily for her.

Ginger didn't reply, but kept following. I shrugged. If she wasn't going to listen to me (which, in all truth, she probably couldn't do anyway), then she would just have to learn the lesson on her own.

It took a while to get to Amu's house, and the journey seemed even longer, thanks to the cold. And by the time I got there, I was _really_ going to be angry if she wasn't home. But I saw that the lights were on, and it made sense that no one would want to go anywhere in this weather. Except for crazy people. Crazy people like me, apparently. I warned Azami not to overreact if Ami said something silly like last time, then I knocked on the door.

It was Amu's mom who answered the door, for which I was grateful; Amu's dad was kind of, you know, weird. And embarrassing.

Amu's mom smiled. "You're one of Amu's friends, right? Miyuki, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Is Amu home? I need to talk to her. I'm sorry I didn't call first. I meant to, but forgot." Azami seemed annoyed at my manners, but then again, she seemed annoyed at everything since I got Ginger. Speaking of Ginger, I noticed that she wasn't right at my feet anymore. I guessed she was hanging back somewhere out of the way, like she had at Mai's house.

"Amu is in her room, I think. Why don't you come on in? I'll go get her for you." Amu's mom said. I walked inside, thankful to be out of the cold. I took off my shoes as I waited, clutching the note tightly in my hand. Soon, I heard footsteps coming from down the hall, and Amu and her charas soon came into view. She looked somewhat confused, but also happy to see me. Her charas floated over before Amu could catch up, and they began to talk to Azami.

"What's going on?" Miki asked.

Su looked concerned. "Is something wrong, desu~?"

"Just because we came over doesn't mean that something is wrong," Azami pointed out. Then she shrugged. "Actually, I'd kind of like to know why we're over here, too. Nadeshiko left us a letter, and wanted us to come over and read it with you."

"A letter?" Amu asked, having made her way over to us. "Why not just tell us herself? Did she seem alright when she gave you the letter?"

"She just dropped off the letter, so I wouldn't know," I responded. "I wasn't home, so she left it with my parents."

"Let's go to my room. We can read it there," Amu suggested. Then she lowered her voice. "I don't think Ami knows you're here yet, so if we're quiet, we might be able to make it without her realizing." We snuck up the stairs and into her room, and even the charas remained quiet; I don't think anyone wanted Ami ruining the conversation. Or attempting to make the charas play house. With Azami here, any stupid games could have turned out badly for all involved. Thankfully, we managed to make it to her room without disturbing Ami, wherever she was.

There was little left to say when we arrived at her room. We were both dying to know what the message was, so I unfolded the paper and held it between us, so both of us could read.

_Dear Amu and Miyuki,_

_I have left for Europe, to study dance abroad and improve my dancing skills. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you in person, but I didn't think I would be able to say goodbye. Thanks to both of you for the great times we had. I'll be back as soon as I can._

I reread the note at least two more times, unable to believe what it was saying. Nadeshiko, gone? But how could she leave us? She was an amazing friend, and her leaving was like a tiny bit of my heart being torn out. I knew she was dedicated to the dance, but why leave for Europe? And how long would she be gone? At least we would still see Kukai every now and then even though he would be going to a new school, but how were we supposed to see Nadeshiko?

I looked over to Amu. This had to be ten times worse for her. While our little trio was close - Amu, Nadeshiko, and me - my relationship with Nadeshiko was nothing compared to how close Nadeshiko and Amu were. How would I feel if Mai were to leave for some place far away? I inwardly shivered. Something like that had already happened, when I'd turned her egg into an X-egg. And though that had been my fault, it was one of the most horrible memories I had.

Amu's eyes were watering with emotion as she mumbled to herself, "Why? And right after I met Nagihiko, too... Why didn't he tell me?"

Despite my own sorrow and disappointment, my curiosity was aroused. "Who is Nagihiko?"

"He's Nadeshiko's twin brother." Amu said, still sad. "He seemed so nice... But why wouldn't he tell me something like this?"

Woah. Back up a minute. Nadeshiko has a _twin? _A twin _brother? _I was still upset about Nadeshiko leaving, but if anything could nearly distract me from that, it was this. Why hadn't Nadeshiko ever told us about him? For that matter, where had he _been_ all this time? Like at the sleepover, for instance? Then again, her house was massive - a whole herd of elephants could have hidden in there and I would never have known.

But that wasn't important right now. Nadeshiko was leaving, and that's what mattered. Or, rather, she was already gone. Both Amu and I sat in silence for a while, trying to take this idea in. Even _I _nearlyteared up a couple of times, and I'm not much of a sentimental type. And while the loss of a friend was horrible enough, I couldn't help thinking what would this do to the Guardians. Kukai, our big brother figure, was already leaving. While perhaps not the most level-headed person in the world, he'd always been there for us. Now Nadeshiko, the calmest of us all (except when chara-changed), was going away for who knows how long. Yaya was too much of a baby, Amu could be unorganized to say the least, and I wasn't the best person to be part of the Guardians (for obvious reasons). So all that left was Tadase, and his shyness could be a major problem every now and then. We _needed _Nadeshiko.

After a while of this silent sadness, the doorknob turned and Ami burst into the room. She'd either heard someone else in the house, or her parents had told her I was here. Ami looked around for a couple of seconds, then spotted Azami.

"Little lizard!" She shouted, then turned to Amu. "Big sis, I wanna play with the lizard!" Amu quickly wiped her eyes and put on her 'cool and spicy' attitude. But even through her act, I could tell she was still shaken by the news about Nadeshiko.

"I'm sorry, Ami, but you can't play with Azami." Amu said sternly. The chara in question was looking quite outraged at this point, but doing a good job at not being provoked into action by a five-year-old.

"I'd probably better go," I said, glad for an excuse to leave. I wanted some time to think about this. Alone.

"I'll walk you to the door," Amu offered. Ami looked upset that she wouldn't get to play with the lizard (again), but she didn't complain too much. Amu did walk me to the door, but we remained silent. We said an awkward goodbye, and then I was back in the cold. I looked around, and soon saw Ginger creep out of some nearby bushes. This time, I did pick her up - I needed some warm, furry company now, though I wouldn't admit to myself that it was due to more than just the cold. And I doubted Azami would offer much consolation concerning the shocking news.

* * * * *

Meanwhile (though I didn't know it), a boy with long blue hair hurried up to the doorway of a house. Tadase's house, to be exact. He knocked on the door and tried to wait patiently, but his golden-brown eyes shown with urgency. Temari floated by him, looking unexpectedly troubled as compared to her normally composed self. The door opened soon, with Tadase just inside the doorway.

"Fujisaki-sa--, er, I mean, Fujisaki-kun. I'm glad to see you, but what are you doing here? Doesn't your flight leave soon?" Tadase said. Kiseki hovered by his shoulder, looking just as confused.

"Yes, it does, so I need to hurry. But this is important, so I had to come talk about it. Do you think we could go somewhere a bit more private? And inside?" The boy asked, his voice emphasizing his rush. Tadase led the way to his room, his pace quick.

Once they were in Tadase's room with the door firmly shut, the boy spoke. "I never wanted to mention this before, in case I was wrong. But now that I'm leaving, I have to say something. The thing is... I think there might be more to Miyuki then she's telling us."

Tadase's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

The boy shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it just seems like there have been too many coincidences. For example, do you remember that weird X-energy we started feeling soon after she arrived? And how it disappeared, and we forgot about it? I noticed that, about the time the feeling went away, Miyuki started wearing that bracelet of hers. Now I never see her without it. Or what about the time we helped her home, after we found her cut up in the parking lot?"

Tadase interrupted, his eyes full of anger at the memory. "But she explained about that - Ikuto was the one who hurt her. And the X-energy must just be a part of who she and her chara are. Like her chara-nari."

Nadeshiko nodded patiently. "Yes, and while that story about Ikuto hurting her still seems suspicious, that's not what I'm talking about. Do you remember her parents? They hardly seemed to care when their daughter was so weak that we had to help her to her room. And concerning the X-energy, why didn't we ever feel it that first week of school? And if the bracelet does have some sort of effect on X-energy, where could she have gotten it? And there's more than just that." The boy talked rapidly, as if there was more to his urgency than simply needing to leave soon. "Azami was the one who suggested that game of hide and seek, when Nikaido took Daichi, Ran, Miki, and Su."

"But it was Yamada-san who first warned us that Nikaido was evil," Tadase argued, yet doubt could be seen in his eyes. "If anything, that was our fault - none of us listened to Hinamori-san or Yamada-san."

"That confused me at first, too," the boy admitted. "It's the reason _why_ I didn't believe them. At that point in time - and even now - I believed that Miyuki was working against us somehow, probably in cooperation with Easter. And I couldn't believe that she would reveal someone else who was working with her, so I thought she was maybe leading Amu and the rest of us away from her own guilt, getting us to focus instead on someone innocent. But what if Easter wanted that? What if they thought that maybe _we _would trust her more if she helped us find one of Easter's operatives? Her whole chara-nari is suspicious, too. And don't you think it's odd how she was able to absorb X-energy, at least for part of the battle?"

"So you think that Yamada-san is working for Easter?" Tadase asked, making sure that he was really understanding what the boy was trying to say. Tadase had known this boy - Nagihiko - for a long time, and had never seen him this upset about anything. This whole idea seemed so unbelievable to Tadase, but he trusted Nagihiko's judgement.

"I don't know anything for sure. And if I'm wrong, I'll feel horrible that I ever thought it, not to mention told you about it. But... yes, I think she's working for Easter, or at the very least she is against the Guardians in some way," the Nagihiko said.

Tadase looked hurt, but at the same time seemed full of determination. "And what about your friendship with Yamada-san? Was that all an act?"

The boy looked down at the ground, as if ashamed. "The friendship... the friendship was real. That made it so much harder to recognize my suspicions. And while I didn't suspect her from the very beginning, it started soon after she arrived. That feeling that something just wasn't right. I've lived an act all my life, and so maybe it's easier for me to tell when someone isn't telling the whole truth. And it seemed like Miyuki was like that so often - sometimes telling only part of the truth, and sometimes telling complete lies."

"But why tell me now?" asked Tadase. "You seem certain, and surely this is something that you should have told me about before."

"I'm not certain, which is part of the problem," he replied, looking up again. "I didn't want to anyone else to think badly of Miyuki, especially if I was wrong. But now, even if it means I have to say all this about Miyuki, there's something more important. I don't want any of the Guardians - you, Yaya, or especially Amu - getting hurt when I could have warned you. I'm not asking you to believe me. _I _don't even want to believe it. But please, just be careful."

Tadase met the Nagihiko's gaze for a few moments, then nodded. Then a car horn sounded from outside, breaking the moment. The boy moved toward the door. "Thank you, Tadase-kun. I have to go now. Remember your promise - though I know that you'd protect Amu and the Guardians anyway, promise or no promise." Then Nagihiko left, walking through the house and out the door, where the car that brought him was still waiting. Tadase followed him to the door, and watched as the car drove down the street.

"Don't worry, Fujisaki-kun. I promise."


	3. A Revelation of Truth

I had been getting really hopeful the past couple of days. As the end of winter break got nearer and Easter still didn't communicate with me at all, it seemed very likely that maybe they'd forgotten about me. Or maybe they just didn't want to deal with me anymore. If Nikaido really told them that I wasn't the obedient little minion that they wanted, then it would make sense that they didn't want to fight to control me. As my hopes continued to build with each passing hour, I tried to ignore that little rational part of me that said that a corporation like Easter doesn't give up that easily.

So when Sunday came around (the day before school started back up), I felt downright optimistic. Not only had I had no trouble from Easter, but the X-energy had hardly bothered me during the past week or so. Even with Nadeshiko leaving, the Darkness stayed at a manageable, not-affecting-me level. Of course, they say that there's always a calm before the storm. But if that was true, then I was enjoying the calm too much to think about the storm.

I was in my room, talking with Azami and petting Ginger as I tried to completely wake up, when my phone did ring. Or rather, it vibrated. I had turned off the sound and set it on my dresser, hoping that maybe I'd get lucky and not hear it if Easter did call. But no dice. I heard it vibrating, but hoped that it might be one of the Guardians or Mai or some clueless person who accidentally dialed the wrong number. So I picked it up and flipped it open, and only then did I deny myself the luxury of hope. It was a text message. From Easter. Great...

It told me to be ready at nine 'o clock A.M., because I was going to be picked up and taken over to the Easter building for instructions. I figured there was probably more to it than that, but tried not to think about it too much. I glanced at the time - 8:30. I quickly dropped Ginger, put on some actual clothes (I was still in my pajamas at the time I got the text), and got ready. I told Azami what the text said.

"So what are you going to do?" Azami asked.

I shrugged. For as much as I had been dreading this, I was actually taking it calmly. "Depends what they're planning on doing. I don't think they can force me to do anything - if they could, Nikaido would have already tried," I said, as much to reassure myself as to tell Azami. "I don't mind working for them, and I don't even mind them ordering me around - at least, I don't mind as long as it's something I want to do."

"Why don't we just quit?" asked Azami as I quickly brushed my blond and purple hair down. "Maybe you're not tired of them, but I am. If you like getting X-eggs so much, then we can keep on doing that by ourselves."

"I don't like collecting X-eggs _that _much," I said. "But we won't get any more power if we quit now. Have you noticed? It seems like we're getting better at controlling the energy."

"That's true," Azami said. Then she shrugged. "Just do what you like. Either way works with me."

I headed downstairs and wolfed down some cereal, finishing right as a car pulled up. It was black, though I could tell it wasn't Nikaido's. That wouldn't have made sense, anyway - Nikaido had been fired. Like I would be, if I was lucky. Getting fired would make the whole decision-making process so much easier. I got in the back seat of the car. A big, secret-service-looking guy was driving, and he said nothing as I got in. That was exactly what I _didn't _want Easter to turn me into: a mindless, speechless goon just there for them to order around. As Azami sat on my shoulder as the car drove along, I realized just how glad I was that Ginger wasn't around, for once. As cute as she was, her attention-seeking got annoying.

When we got to Easter, another goon opened the car door for me and had me follow him into the building and to the elevators. I felt a bit offended - did they not trust me to get there by myself? Then again, I didn't even know where 'there' was, and I wouldn't blame them for not trusting me. The guy got us off at the floor where the office of the director/manager/whatsisname is, so I guessed I would be speaking with him. Sure enough, the goon led me to the office, opened to door for me, gestured for me to go inside, then shut the door behind me.

This was the second time I'd been in here, and his dark office wasn't _nearly _as ominous now that I'd been here before. He was sitting in his desk, silhouetted like the first time I'd seen him. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't worried at all. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. I was somewhat worried, and the Darkness was starting to try and feed that worry. But it still wasn't bad. I think, by this point in time, I was so worn out from all the worrying that I'd done that I just didn't have the capacity to do it properly anymore. Which was a good thing, as I saw it.

I thought about starting the conversation, and I think Azami could tell what I was thinking, because I ended up chara-changing. "So what do you need?" I asked casually, which probably sounded really impertinent coming from a fifth grader talking to a company director.

It looked like he might have tensed slightly in annoyance, but his voice didn't show it. "Yamada-san, I have received some very... unflattering reports about your behavior. Would you like to give me your account of what happened with Nikaido Yuu's project?"

I rolled my eyes, my chara-change making me rebellious. "What is this, a meeting about my behavior? Are you suddenly my teacher or something? Or maybe this is an interrogation? Well, whatever. Basically, Nikaido ordered me to do something I didn't want to do, and so I didn't do it. It's as simple as that. By the way, I don't think you've ever told me your name, which seems rather rude."

The man smiled. "Didn't I tell you before? You're dealing with Easter, so who I am isn't important."

"Well, I'm not going to answer any more questions unless you tell me who I'm talking to." I said defiantly.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," The man said, sounding amused at my persistance. "I am Hoshina Kazuomi." If not for my chara-change, I probably would have flinched or said something really stupid in surprise. Hoshina? Did that mean he was related to Utau? Then again, that would make perfect sense as to how Utau got involved with Easter.

Kazuomi paused for a moment, as if to let that sink in, then continued, "And did what Nikaido order you to do violate your contract in any way?"

I tilted my head and put my hand to my chin, as if in deep thought. Then I shrugged. "Not that I can think of."

"So are you refusing to abide by your terms of the contract?" he asked, his tone suddenly dangerous.

"When you put it that way, I guess I am." I love my chara-changed self. I mean, how fun was this? He's over there in his desk, doing his best to look and sound threatening, and I'm just a kid who basically doesn't care about what he says. I was enjoying it. A lot.

Though his face was almost hidden in the shadows, I could see his expression change as he got slightly more serious. "If that's the case," he said as he pushed out his chair and stood up, "then I'd like you to follow me." He walked towards me, and my chara-change went away. I stepped to the side so that he could get to the door, then followed him out of the office. Two security goons, who had been waiting outside the office, started to follow us, but the director waved them back to their spots.

I was getting more worried by now. He didn't seem phased by the fact that I wouldn't listen to his orders anymore, which had to mean that he had some way of controlling me that I didn't know about. My heart started to pound as we stopped in front of the elevator. And the Darkness, as if sensing a ripe opportunity, flared up as well. Still, I stayed in control of myself. I considered character-transforming and getting out of here, but that seemed too cowardly for a dragon.

Kazuomi didn't immediately press the down button, but rather turned towards me. His face was still serious, but there was a definite glint in his eyes. Like he knew a secret that I needed to know, but that he wasn't going to tell. "Before we go anywhere, let me say that Easter appreciates what work you have done, and would like nothing more than to have your continued service." This surprised me. I thought I was going somewhere to be punished. Which, if that had been the case, I wouldn't have let it happen. Kazuomi continued, "I was going to take you to meet the person who will be in charge of managing your activities, since Nikaido has left us. However, perhaps you'd like some more X-energy before we go to do that? Consider it Easter's way of thanking you for your diligent service."

What. In. The. World. Easter was _thanking _me? That didn't make sense at all.

Azami apparently thought the same thing. "He's leading you into a trap, or something," Azami whispered into my ear, quiet enough so that she wouldn't be heard. "I wouldn't suggest getting more power today." Even though it was an obvious trap, I was still tempted by the offer. What can I say? I like power. On the other hand, I wasn't going to be stupid.

In my pause I took to think about the offer, Kazuomi must have seen that I was open to the idea. "Or maybe, if you didn't want to do that," he said, "perhaps our scientists could explain about how the crystal works. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you seem like the type who would be interested in gaining knowledge like that."

He was being _way _too polite to _not _be hiding something, but he was right; I _did_ want to know how the whole X-energy crystal worked. If I understood the concept, maybe I could find a way to do it myself. And if I could do it myself, there would be almost no reason to continue working for Easter. And if it really was a trap and they tried to take me by force or something like that, I could always chara-nari and get away. There couldn't be any harm in just _learning _something, could there?

"All right," I said, which I guessed I was probably going to regret. "I _would _like to learn more about how I get the X-energy."

A faint smile appeared on his face, and I could tell that he felt he had gained a victory in some way. "Then follow me." he said, pushing the down button and getting in. I came in after him, knowing that I'd probably just agreed to the most idiotic thing in the world. I looked to Azami, and she simply shrugged her shoulders. Maybe walking into a trap wasn't that big of a deal to a dragon. Getting out of it was what mattered.

We stopped at the usual floor where I went for power-ups, and walked to the lab. The three scientists were in there, looking prepared.

The girl scientist greeted us, bowing her head respectfully to Kazuomi. "We have everything ready." Then she turned to me, saying, "Are you ready for another power transferal, Yamada-san?" Something seemed wrong, besides the fact that they knew ahead of time that Kazuomi was going to offer me another power boost. The lady's voice was courteous, yet something in her expression revealed a sort of sadness. Maybe I was overly-paranoid at this point, but I doubted it.

Kazuomi explained, "Yamada-san isn't in the mood for that today. She was hoping that you might be able to tell her how the process works."

The smaller male scientist, who had been messing with some dials on a nearby machine, immediately perked up and came over.

"The mechanics of the procedure are really quite amazing." He said enthusiastically. "The molecules of the crystal emit a peculiar oscillations that-"

"In basic terms, please." I said. The man looked dejected, and the woman instead took over.

"Simply put, we'll just say it's a very special crystal," she said. "It puts out a kind of invisible wave, though it's not sound or light. Every person - and even animals and plants to some extent - has a similar kind of wave that they give off, though the individual waves vary in many ways. Our findings show that charas are somehow related to this wave, since the wave they emit synchronizes with that of the person they came from. Are you getting it so far?" She seemed like she truly wanted me to understand it. I suppose all scientists were probably like that; they wanted to learn things so that they could tell others.

I nodded. It was actually kind of interesting. The lady continued, "As I said before, it's a special crystal. Not only does it give off these waves, but it also has the ability to match its wave to another wave. It does this through direct physical contact, when the other source is working to match up with it as well. That corresponds to the first time Azami touched the crystal. The reason you get X-energy from it is because the crystal also has some properties of absorption. We leave it in prolonged contact with X-energy, and it sucks the energy in. Whenever Azami touches the crystal, the contact allows the X-energy to travel through the matching waves, using Azami as a kind of channel. Is that making sense?"

"Yes, I think I get it." I said, pondering the concept for a moment. I wasn't entirely sure if I liked the idea of somehow being connected to this crystal, but at this point I guessed that it didn't matter whether or not I liked it. "So where did you get the crystal?"

Kazuomi interrupted whatever answer the lady was going to give, saying, "There's something else I'd like to show you." His tone sounded venomous, though it was a very subtle change. "Please wait here." Kazuomi moved towards the door to the opposite room, where I could see the crystal we had been talking about. The larger guy scientist, as if expecting this, rushed ahead of him, went in the door, and came out with the crystal. He carefully handed it over to the director. Kazuomi pulled something out of his pocket, which vaguely resembled a garage door opener with two thin metal rods sticking out at one end. Although it was quite a bit more modern-looking than a garage door opener, with one large button on it and curved corners. He placed the crystal on the rods, and I heard a soft _click _as it fit perfectly into place. I wasn't liking this much.

Kazuomi, still on the opposite side of the rather large lab, began to speak. "I wanted you to hear that explanation so that you could begin to understand what you've gotten yourself into." My stomach practically dropped to the floor. That wasn't exactly the most encouraging thing to hear. "There's actually a bit more to the crystal than you've been told so far. Each time Azami has touched the crystal, more than X-energy was exchanged. Though we don't know much about them, these waves come from a very definite source that is a part of each person. And this source is very necessary, if these scientists are to be believed. The two times your chara has come in contact with, a bit of your source was absorbed into the crystal. Though you-"

I didn't wait any longer. I could see where this was going, and I wasn't going to just sit around and watch. I chara-changed and leaped forward, pushing the lady scientist out of my way as I rushed furiously towards Kazuomi. Almost in slow motion, I saw Kazuomi smile, then raise his hand so that the crystal in it's strange holder was in view. Then, he pressed the button.

The effect was instantaneous. I fell to the ground, lacking the energy to even stand. It felt like something had just been ripped out of me, something that I couldn't live without. It hurt, physically and mentally. I curled up on my side, as if making myself smaller would help hold me together. It felt like my soul had been ripped out, if there really was such a thing.

Then, the X-energy flooded me, but with none of the helpful power that it usually came with. Now, it felt like an infection, something that absolutely should _not _be there. It was like it was trying to fill the hole that I had felt just a moment before, but it seemed acidic. My entire body felt like it was on fire, especially my chest. I curled up tighter. The Darkness suffocated me, and hurt me, and tried to burst me open, all at the same time. And even beyond that, beyond the mere physical pain, my mind was in a hopeless state of disrepair. _I am broken. I shouldn't even exist. Just kill me now. Let it all be over. There is no joy, no happiness, no love - only suffering. _It was so much more than those times when the Darkness by itself had overcome me. Those times, I lost the will to live. But now, in addition to the pain, I actually wanted to _die. _Even in those spans of utter despair, I had never actually desired death.

It was all over in a few seconds, but that was long enough. I continued to lay on the ground, shaking. And though I neither saw nor heard Azami, I knew she was somewhere nearby, shocked by the pain just as much as I was. Gradually, my body relaxed enough for me to uncurl myself and try to sit up. I managed to get into a cross-legged position, despite the violent quaking of my body. I noticed Azami sitting nearby, her hands clenched and her eyes furious. Instinctually, I grabbed her and put her down on my knee. I didn't see how that rage could be in her eyes; all I had was fear.

Kazuomi walked over until he was just a couple feet in front of me. I didn't look up at him, instead deciding to stare at the floor. "It's very rude to interrupt me while I'm talking, Yamada-san," Kazuomi said, his voice full of triumph. "As I was saying, though you can go as far away from the crystal as you want, it still contains a vital part of you. You have still been able to go on normally with your life, but that's only because your waves and the crystal's waves can match up, no matter the distance. However, when I disrupt the waves that the crystal releases... it's a bit less pleasant, isn't it? You lose all connection with the part of you that is in the crystal. You are the only one who knows what this feels like."

"Now, look up at me." I didn't want to, but I was afraid of what he would do if I didn't. I slowly moved my head, until I was looking him straight in the face. I saw no feeling of triumph there, and when he spoke again it was all business. "You will do as Easter says. I am not afraid to do this to you anytime I hear of you doing something that Easter doesn't want. However, just do what you're ordered and we can all get along just fine. Do you understand?"

I closed my eyes and nodded. I had no choice. I realized that my eyes were watering, and I did my best to wipe the extra wetness away.

"That's no way to answer your superior," Kazuomi said.

"Y-yes, Hoshina-san." I managed to stutter out, looking at ground.

"Better," he said. "Now, as your first order, Azami is to touch this crystal. There's X-energy stored in it, as always, and it would be a shame to let that go to waste."

Azami looked outraged, but I didn't want to go through the pain again. "Just do it, Azami. There's no use fighting." Azami glared at me, but she didn't want to have to deal with the pain any more than I did. She floated up to where Kazuomi was holding out the crystal, which was firmly secured to his little remote. The woman scientist came up to me, kneeled down, and gently took off the bracelet that normally hid my X-energy. I remembered that I'd had to take it off last time, as well. Maybe, if she would leave it on, it would mess up the process somehow... but that was an empty hope. It would never happen.

It hurt as Azami first touched the crystal, as it had in the past. I saw the purple fog surround Azami, then get sucked into the crystal. Now I knew what this was. It had to be the source of the waves, or whatever they called it. But that lasted only a moment, and then X-energy was flooding into me, more than the last two times combined. The strength it gave me was almost overwhelming, and I noticed that Azami seemed to be absorbing a lot more of the black fog than she had the other times. I was almost afraid that my body wouldn't be able to take this massive amount of power, but it was over soon enough. I was left with my whole body tingling. I was stronger than I had ever felt before. I wanted to jump up and grab the crystal from Kazuomi, but I knew that he could press the button faster than I could take it from him. Despite my new surge of strength, I didn't get up from the floor. Though the weakness had left, the memory of the pain remained. I felt dejected, and I just wished that everyone would go away and leave me alone.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. "Miyuki, come along." Kazuomi said, walking towards the door. "I wasn't lying earlier when I said that you would be meeting your new manager." I got up soundlessly from the floor, and he thankfully didn't ask for a response this time. The woman scientist gave me back my bracelet, which I put back on. I had none of the confidence that I usually had after getting X-energy. If it weren't for the fact that there were people around, the Darkness would have overcome me then and there. But whenever there was at least one other person with me, no matter who it was, it seemed like the Darkness couldn't get a firm hold. I looked at the scientists once as I left the room, and saw that all three of them look ashamed. As much as they loved science, it didn't look like they enjoyed torturing a young girl like me. But, in their own way, they were probably as helpless as I was to do anything about it.

I followed Kazuomi back to the elevators, with Azami sitting on my shoulder. We went back up to the floor where his office was. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I saw that someone (other than the security goons) was already here, waiting outside the office doors. One was that lady who had been with Utau that one time and who had fought with Nikaido, though I couldn't remember her name. Next to her was a boy about my age. He had dark, almost greenish hair, which was parted and somewhat long in front. He wore glasses, his eyes were olive green, and his expression serious. And while it was surprising enough that there was another kid here, what shocked me more was that a samurai shugo chara was hovering next to his shoulder. I think he might have been a bit shocked to see me as well, but if so, he did a good job at hiding it. Kazuomi greeted them, and opened the door to his office.

Kazuomi went straight to his desk and sat down. I sort of moved over to one side of the room, putting a bit of distance between me and the other two people. Kazuomi started the introductions.

"Yamada-san, this is Sanjo Yukari and her brother, Kairi. Yukari is going to be in charge of you from now on, like Nikaido used to be. That means if she tells you to do something, you do it." Kazuomi was implying something to the extent of, 'don't disobey her like you disobeyed Nikaido, or you-know-what happens.' I got what he was really saying. Then he continued, "Kairi is going to go to Seiyo with you, and has been selected as the replacement Jack for the Guardians. You two will be working together as Easter's spies in the Guardians."

_Another_ spy in the Guardians? That would make two out of five of us traitors. Two out of six, if there was a new Queen as well. I have to say, I would be glad for the company. Other than Azami (who didn't really count), there wasn't anyone I could talk to about working for Easter. I guess it depended in part on if we got along okay, but I was kind of desperate. Especially with today's latest development. Even if I ended up hating his guts, I probably would have still talked to him.

Then Kazuomi turned to face the other two. "Yukari and Kairi, this is Yamada Miyuki. I believe I've already let you know everything you need to know about her." Kazuomi paused, and I realized that he wanted us to greet each other, or something like that. Not wanting to make him angry, I stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you." I said, somewhat awkwardly. Kairi dipped his head in polite recognition, but said nothing.

Yukari, for her part, skipped any acknowledgement and instead asked, "What are you able to do with your character change and transformation?"

I would have thought that she would already have been told this. Maybe she just wanted to hear it in my own words. "Well... in my chara-change I can create smoke, which draws out X-eggs. And I can scratch people, which also brings out X-eggs. And I can do a sort of hypnotizing glare. When I transform, I can create a lot more of the same smoke, I can fly, and I can attack with fire." I didn't once think about not answering. I was still in fear of the punishment.

Yukari nodded. Then Kazuomi spoke, "Sanjo-san, how are your plans for finding the Embryo coming?"

She turned to face him. "Slowly but surely, we are making progress. Following Nikaido's example, we have started to collect the X-eggs that Utau pulls out of people. The scientists are working on finding a way to use these to amplify Utau's abilities. Unlike Nikaido, I will succeed in delivering the Embryo."

"Good," Kazuomi said. "Be sure that you do. You and your brother are dismissed; Yamada-san, stay here for a while longer." As the two of them left the room, I remained where I was, wondering what more Kazuomi could possibly want with me.

Once they were gone, he got right to the point. "I have already told Yukari that you are to do everything she asks. If you don't, she will inform me, and you _will _be punished for your disobedience. Yukari knows about the crystal, but Kairi does not. You are to keep it that way. You will not speak with anyone about the crystal, aside from those who already know about it. Other than that, your orders are to continue deceiving the Guardians and to do what Yukari says. If it comes to the point where Yukari orders you to stop hiding your allegiances, then you are to do as she says immediately. Do you understand?"

At this point, the fear from the shock was leaving, and now I was more angry than anything. But I didn't want to be insolent, in case he decided to try out his little button again, which I noticed he was still holding in his hand.

"Yes, Hoshina-san. I understand."

He sat back in his chair and smiled, probably content in the fact that he now had control over me. "Good. You may go now."

I gladly left. As I closed the door behind me, I noted that Yukari and Kairi were gone, but an extra goon was waiting for me. He took me down the elevator, out the front doors, and back to the same car as before. When I got back home and opened the front door, Ginger came rushing to greet me. She seemed worried. That probably made sense: animals are more perceptive than humans, and she could probably tell what a horrible mood I was in. It was sort of a mix between depression, anger, and fear. Once I made it up to my room, I talked with Azami about everything, hoping that letting my cat overhear the news wouldn't get me in trouble somehow.

But our conversation was almost pure emotion, with hardly any solution at all. Azami was simply outraged, and would rant about how anyone could possibly do this to a dragon, and how she would show him. I shared her rage some of the time. Other times, I started shaking with terror, remembering the pain. Whenever the shaking started, the Darkness would try and take over, but Azami and Ginger always managed to ward it off. But it was stronger than before, and no matter how many times Ginger would rub against me and help me to forget about it, it always came back.

This was _not _how I wanted to start the new school year. But with Easter in control of me, what I wanted was no longer of any importance. As much as I hated to admit it, I had been made into a pawn. And no matter how much X-energy I had, it was Easter who held the real power.

* * *

Reviews make me happy. Just thought I'd mention that. Also, I just put a fun fact about something in this chapter on my profile, it you're curious~.

Edit: just wanted to mention that the thing that the crystal goes into is not the tuning fork used to control Ikuto in the anime and manga. The tuning fork doesn't have a button. This does. However, I realize now that they sort of resemble each other when I just use words to describe them (eg, two metal prongs on one end), so I just thought I'd clear that up. It's not that important what it looks like, in truth, but I don't want to confuse anyone~


	4. Confrontation with the Queen

When I woke up to the beeping of my alarm, I considered shutting it off, going back to sleep, and skipping school. I hadn't had the best night's rest. I kept on having nightmares. They would start with Kazuomi, who had my purple energy in his hand. I would try and get it back in whatever way I could - by force, begging, anything - but he always just smiled at my futile attempts. There always seemed to be someone else in the dream, but the person never helped me. Then the purple haze in Kazuomi's hand would solidify until it was the size and shape of a heart's egg, and then he would crush it. That was when I would wake up in a cold sweat, shaking uncontrollably. It would take me a while to fall back to sleep, because whenever I closed my eyes, the image of the shattering egg always made me jerk back awake. And then, when I finally did drift off to sleep again, the nightmare would always come back, more vivid than the last time.

So when the alarm started going off, I wasn't just tired. I was _exhausted_. But I was afraid of what would happen if I did something like miss school. Kairi would probably tell Yukari, who would tell Kazuomi, who would probably punish me... and I didn't even want to think about that, nonetheless make it happen. I dragged myself out of bed, did my best to get ready for the day, and then left the house. Azami seemed somewhat tired as well, but as far as I knew, she hadn't had any problems sleeping. And though my nightmares had been bad, I never screamed during them, and so I didn't think I'd ever woken my chara up last night.

The walk to school helped to calm me down - even with the sun shining brightly overhead, I was somewhat jittery. I tried to think rationally about the situation, and talked with Azami about it as well. She was more reasonable than last night, but still angry. We figured that, as long as we did whatever Easter said, then we didn't have to be afraid of the punishment. But that was worth very little consolation. For one, that meant that I'd lost any choice I had. Before, when Nikaido told me to do something, I always had the option of refusing. Now, while I technically _could _refuse orders, that would mean having to face that pain again, and I didn't know if there was_ anything _that would make me want to live through that again. Secondly, even if I _did _do my best to obey, I doubted that was any guarantee that I still wouldn't get punished. For example, what if I tried to do something, but messed up? Or what if I made some sort of stupid mistake that would show the Guardians that I work for Easter? I might be punished for my incompetence. Or maybe Kazuomi would think I messed up on purpose to help the Guardians, and discipline me for that.

Outwardly, I was calmer by the time I made it to school. Inwardly, however, I was going haywire. I was still afraid of what Kazuomi could do, though perhaps slightly less so. I was also angry with the world, and why something like this had to happen. It was partially my own fault, which only made me even angrier. Ginger had followed me out of the house, and she wouldn't go back home, and it annoyed me that she wouldn't do what I said. The increased amount of Darkness wasn't helping at all; I almost ended up stopping twice on the way to school, unable to carry on. Ginger helped me out at those times, but that made me more upset, in a way. I mean, was I such a loser that I needed help from a _cat_? Thankfully, she walked back the way we came when we were within about a block of the school. Maybe she had just realized that I needed some company on the way there, other than just Azami.

But as I entered the school, I realized something was going on. Groups of students were gathered around the walls, straining to look at pieces of paper that were taped up. As I got closer, I realized what they were, and groaned. I had forgotten that Seiyo mixes up which student are in which classes at the semester. I found the listings for the fifth grade, and moved through the swarm of students to get a better look. The first thing I noticed was that Nikaido was still teaching the star class. But how could that be? We'd found out that he wasn't really a teacher. So why was he still here?

A more pressing question popped into my mind: what if he told the Guardians that I was working for Easter? I thought about it, and realized that it might not be such a bad thing. There was nothing I could do if he was the one who told the Guardians. And Kazuomi wouldn't chastise me for something I couldn't prevent at all, would he? However, even though Nikaido wasn't a bad guy anymore, he didn't seem quite like a good guy, either. I didn't think that he would give me away, whether I wanted him to or not.

Then I scanned the list. I saw Amu and Tadase were both going to be in Nikaido's class, but I didn't see my name anywhere on it. I looked to the list of everyone who would be in the moon class, and sure enough, there I was. But other than Mai, there was no one that I knew very well in my new class. I was upset that I wouldn't be in a class with any of the Guardians. I saw them everyday at lunch and after school, but still... I was going to miss not having Amu in my class. As I backed out of the crowd and walked to my new classroom, it occurred to me that I hadn't seen Kairi's name on either of the two lists. He had looked my age, but I guess he could have been a year older or younger.

I went up to my classroom and sat down next to Mai. We greeted each other, me doing my best to hide my mood. But I was practically falling asleep as we chatted, and even without that I think Mai could have realized that something was wrong. Thankfully, she didn't ask about it. My new teacher was an older woman. She was fairly nice, but kind of dull. I found myself thinking almost longingly of Nikaido and his klutziness. I dozed off more than once, but the teacher never noticed. I didn't have any nightmares, but sleeping in a desk isn't the most restful thing in the world. By the time lunch came around, I was almost more tired than I had been this morning.

I got in the lunch line with Mai. The lunchroom was noisy enough that any conversation we had probably wouldn't be overheard. Which is why Mai had waited till now to talk to me about the condition I was in.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You haven't been yourself all day."

I shrugged, trying to act like it wasn't a big deal. "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. That's all."

Mai frowned. "Miyuki, you know you don't have to lie to me," she said quietly, her voice almost too soft to hear. "You're tired, and I can see that. But something else is wrong. If you don't want to tell me what it is, that's fine. But you don't have to deny it." She didn't sound angry. She was more concerned than anything, and perhaps even a bit embarrassed that she was being so direct about the problem.

I wanted to tell her everything, right then and there. I wasn't sure if she'd even like me if I told her all the bad things I'd done, but at this point I just needed someone to listen to me. But I knew I couldn't. Still, I smiled, glad to have a friend like Mai. I mean, how many friends could really be able to tell that there was more to my mood than just lack of sleep? And how many of those would actually talk about it, rather than just pretend that everything was fine with the world? Not many. Amu was the only other possibility, and not even she could compare to Mai.

"You're right, Mai, and I didn't mean to cover it up." I said. Azami gave me a light whack on the head, which I supposed meant that I was being too polite or corny or friendly or something. But I ignored it, as I usually did, and continued, "There is something wrong, but I can't really talk about it. Thanks for asking, though."

Mai nodded understandingly. Once we were through the lunch line, Mai went off to her usual table and I sat down with the Guardians. The table felt unusually empty without Nadeshiko and Kukai.

Yaya started whining to Tadase as soon as I sat down, "Okay, everyone's here! Tadase, announce who the new Guardians are!"

"Okay," Tadase said, seeming relieved that he could finally start. Yaya had probably been bugging him all the time they had been waiting. "The new Jack chair will be Sanjo Kairi, who is in the fourth grade. Have you met him yet, Yuiki-san?"

Yaya shook her head, pouting. "He's probably in the other class. But I want to meet him!" Ignoring Yaya, I noted that Amu seemed to be distracted. She was hardly paying attention to the announcement of the new Guardians, which was odd. However, I didn't mention it.

Tadase continued, "The new Queen chair will be Mashiro Rima, who is in the fifth grade."

Amu had heard this at least, because she looked slightly stunned. "She's going to be a Guardian? Ran, Miki, and Su all felt a chara with her, but I didn't think she..." Amu trailed off. She didn't sound like she was trying to be mean, but nor did she seem too happy with the news.

Despite my bad mood, my curiosity was aroused. "Did I miss something? Is something wrong with the new Queen?"

"No, nothing's wrong with her." Amu said quickly. "It's just..."

"You haven't heard yet, Miyuki-chi?" Yaya asked.

"Heard what?" I wondered what Yaya could possibly know about the Queen. Then again, Yaya seemed to know all the latest news, whether it was true or not.

"Amu-chi's class is split practically in two right now." Yaya explained, looking excited at being the first to tell me the news. "All the guys immediately started following Rima around and doing whatever she says. All the girls got angry, and sided with Amu, so now there's a war in their class!"

"That seems a little over-exaggerated, Yuiki-san." Tadase said.

"And what about you, Tadase-kun?" I asked, a bit cheered up by the story. A _war _in Nikaido's class? Undoubtedly, that's a slight embellishment, but the idea was still funny. "Which side are you on?"

Tadase looked embarrassed. "I'm trying to stay neutral."

I learned little more about the conflict, although I did manage to spy Rima in the lunchroom - a small, blonde girl, constantly surrounded by a flock of awestruck boys. In general, I hated those kind of stuck-up, perfect girls who get everything they want. I doubted I was going to get along with her, and the X-energy made me even more hostile to the idea of befriending her. My eyes kept on closing as I started to nod off, and Amu had to wake me up more than once to ask me if I was okay. I told her, Yaya, and Tadase that I was fine, just kind of tired. It didn't see like they believed me, or at least Amu didn't. I thought that I caught Tadase looking at me suspiciously a couple of times, but I was probably half delirious from lack of sleep, so I didn't think much of it.

We dispersed when lunch ended, and went back to our respective classrooms. Normally, I'd walk back with Amu, but she wasn't in my class anymore. I reallywasn't in the mood for company, anyway. I was hardly paying attention to where I was going, and I was moving so slow that a snail probably could have passed me. As I walked down the hallway, Rima passed by me. This was the first time I'd seen her up close - she was extremely petite, with extravagantly long blond hair.

But I got no more than a glimpse. I was pushed aside as her group of guys came by, trailing behind her. They took up almost all of the hallway, and the sad thing was that they were so obsessed with their queen that they didn't even know that they'd hit me. I lost what little balance I had, and toppled onto the ground. I wasn't even able to get my arms out in time to try and soften the fall, so I landed hard. I guess not getting a lot of rest kind of ruins your reflexes for the day.

"Miyuki! Are you okay?" I heard Amu call as she came rushing up from behind. She must have seen me fall. But I wasn't going to wait around for her to help me up. I was already angry and sleep-deprived, and getting knocked over had set me boiling. My chara-change came almost automatically, and I could tell that Azami was mad as well. Ignoring Amu's concern, I got up and walked quickly forward, pushing my way through the center of Rima's followers. When I was right behind her, I spoke up.

"Mashiro Rima," I said, using her full name for a better effect. Those boys that hadn't stopped already did now, and Rima halted and turned as well. We stood face to face, and I noticed that she was a full head shorter than me. However, she seemed no less confident in herself, despite the obvious size difference.

She looked at me calmly. Her eyes lingered on Azami for a moment, and then she turned her attention to me. "Who are you? Do you want to be one of my servants, too?"

What she said didn't bug me so much as the fact that she wasn't joking. At all. I clenched my fists, then relaxed them again. Even chara-changed, I wasn't going to resort to violence; beating up a little girl like this was below what little dignity I still had. I wasn't even thinking about how I must look to everyone else right now - at school, I was usually fairly nice. Now, I was the very image of wrath.

"Would you tell your posse of guys to stop following you around?" I asked, keeping my tone even in a way that was perhaps more frightening than if I'd been screaming at the top of my lungs. "They're crowding the hallway, and someone might get hurt if they aren't paying attention where they're going."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Rima asked innocently, though I could see defiance in her eyes. "It's they're choice where they want to walk. Tell them."

A couple of the guys cried out their support of Rima, though most wanted to hear what I would say next. I glared at her, unconsciously putting power into the gaze. "Maybe they can go where they want, but _you _are the source of the problem. You should take responsibility for it."

I doubted she would have been able to resist my hypnotizing powers for long, but luckily for her, Amu had pushed her way through the crowd as well.

"Miyuki! What are you doing?" she said from behind me. I wheeled around to face her, not realizing how close she was. One of my fingernails brushed against her arm. It had only lightly scraped her, but my nails were sharp: had it broken the skin? If it had, the effects could be serious. What if it ended up turning Ran, Miki, and Su into X-eggs? My chara-change immediately faded, and I realized how close I had been to losing my composure.

I did some speedy thinking, which would have been impressive even on a day when I _did _have a full night's rest. I turned to everyone in the small crowd of boys, and I shocked even myself with what I said. "I'm sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to be so rude. But seriously, you guys nearly trampled me as you were going down the hallway. I was a bit upset because of that. If you insist on staying in your group, then at least watch where you're going. Okay?"

The boys gave a general murmur of agreement, and a couple of the boys nearby even said that they were sorry for knocking me down. A lot of the group either fell back or went ahead, so as to leave more room in the hall. Rima seemed unconcerned and walked on, her small but loyal band still following. She probably hadn't learned her lesson, but at the very least, I had probably kept myself from being known as a girl with a anger-management problem.

But that wasn't important right now. Now that the commotion was over, I quickly glanced down at Amu's arm. There wasn't any scratch that I could see, and I just managed to hold back my sigh of relief. I quickly apologized. "Sorry, Amu - I wasn't quite in control of myself. I didn't hit you when I turned around, did I?" I couldn't exactly talk about the chara-change right now; there were still two girls behind Amu, who had apparently been watching the action.

"No, I'm fine," Amu said. She was about to say something else, but one of the girls stepped up from behind her and interrupted.

"Yamada-san, that was amazing!" she said.

The other of the girls stepped forward. "Yeah, way to tell that girl who's boss!"

I smiled at this unexpected praise, but I didn't really know how to respond. "We'd better get back to our rooms - class is going to be starting soon," I said truthfully. We all did go back to our classes, and though I didn't talk about it with anyone except Mai, by the end of the day two greatly-exaggerated versions of what happened were all across the school. One had me portrayed as a hero for standing up to Rima and her gang of guys. The other version portrayed me as being mean to pick on poor little Rima. And while I did here that second story quite a lot, it seemed most people were going along with the good portrayal of me. I had almost never been mean to anyone at school, and plus, I was a Guardian - meanness and Guardians just don't mix, apparently.

* * *

Tadase had already given both Rima and Kairi their invitations to join the Guardians for tea, and so both showed up in the garden after school. The first thing they did was introduce their charas. The little samurai that Kairi had was named Musashi. Rima's chara, who looked like a clown or a jester or something, was Kusukusu. Kusukusu giggled at almost everything, and I wondered how someone like Rima could _possibly _have such a fun chara.

The meeting was boring, even with the new people. Basically, Tadase just explained in detail what they would have to do as Guardians. Rima would occasionally comment on how much work it sounded like it was going to be, which irritated me. Kairi was always giving business-like suggestions on how we might be able to improve upon the efficiency of the Guardians. Maybe he got it from his sister. I fell asleep a couple of times, but Amu always came to my rescue, nudging me to wake me up. When I did happen to be awake enough to notice much, it seemed to me like Amu wanted to say something, but she couldn't work up the nerve to get it over with. Her charas kept on exchanging looks with each other, like they knew something that no one else did. But I was too out of it to care much.

Tadase's explanation of the Guardians' activities was short, which was one thing to be grateful for. But there were so many more things that I was angry about that one good thing didn't do much to make me happy. When the meeting ended, I decided not to go home quite yet. Besides, I had something I wanted to do. I told the rest of the Guardians that I had forgotten something in the school, then I headed off that way. But as soon as I was sure they were gone, I walked off through the school grounds, hoping that I was heading in the general direction of the planetarium. I'm not exactly sure why I wanted to go there so badly. Maybe because I hoped it would help me forget about my problem, at least for a little bit.

Eventually, after changing direction a couple of times, I saw the dome of the building rising up above the trees. I opened the door and slipped inside, glad to see that the projector was on. I took the same seat as last time, lied down, and relaxed. Surprisingly, just being in here was helping me to stop worrying about my problems. When I was in here, seeing the stars, the troubles outside just seemed so distant. Azami fell asleep on my leg, though I think she was more bored than tired. After just a few minutes in there, I was so much calmer that I couldn't help but close my eyes... you know, just for a couple minutes...

* * *

"So, you're back here again, Miyuki-san." I jerked awake at the voice. I looked up to see that the fortune-telling guy from last time was here again. I wished I could remember his name.

"Uh, yeah." I said, still a bit embarrassed that I'd fallen asleep. I wondered how long I'd been sleeping. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Don't worry - it's not too late in the evening. There's still plenty of daylight outside." He said with a kind smile.

_Great, but I'd still kind of like to know what time it is, _I thought. I considered getting my cell phone and looking at the time on there, but I figured that might be kind of rude. I discreetly nudged Azami, who was still asleep. She woke up, realized that we weren't alone, and then flew right up in front of his face.

"It's the guy who likes stars." She said bluntly, which only made him smile more. "What was your name again?"

I was glad that I didn't have to be the one to ask. "Amakawa Tsukasa," he answered. Then he turned to me. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Go right ahead," I replied. He sat down next to me, and we looked up at the stars in silence for a while. This seemed eerily similar to the first time I'd been in here. For a moment, I wished I could go back to then, and somehow keep myself from choosing to work for Easter. But that could never happen. And I knew that I never would have been satisfied if I hadn't joined up with Easter. Sure, if I hadn't, then I probably could have had a lot more fun with the Guardians, and I would've never had to hurt Mai. But then I also would never have had the chance to chara-nari with Azami, and I would have felt silly for sticking with the 'good guys.'

"So how are you and Azami doing?" asked Tsukasa after a while.

I sighed. "Not all that great." I had no idea why I was admitting this to him. I guess he just seemed like that kind of person who you couldtell things to.

There was another pause that lasted a couple minutes, where neither of us said anything. Then Tsukasa asked, "You're class had a poetry unit this past semester, correct?"

"Yes," I said, though I didn't particularly want to remember that. I didn't bother wondering how Tsukasa knew about it; he seemed to know everything, in his mysterious way.

"Then perhaps you wouldn't mind if I recited a favorite poem of my own?" Tsukasa said. "I don't normally get an audience, and I think you might like it." I shrugged in response, which he took as assent. "Okay then, let me see if I can remember it... It's called, "The Star," and it was written by Ann Taylor." He cleared his throat, then began:

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,  
How I wonder what you are!  
Up above the world so high,  
Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,  
When he nothing shines upon,  
Then you show your little light,  
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the trav'ller in the dark,  
Thanks you for your tiny spark,  
He could not see which way to go,  
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,  
And often thro' my curtains peep,  
For you never shut your eye,  
Till the sun is in the sky.

'Tis your bright and tiny spark,  
Lights the trav'ller in the dark:  
Tho' I know not what you are,  
Twinkle, twinkle, little star."

Tsukasa was perfect for the poem. The words were filled with gratitude and hope, and his voice and demeanor matched that. This was nothing like the poems I'd been forced to read. Those had always left me feeling worse off than ever, with little to look forward to. But this had just the opposite effect - to me, the world was suddenly just a little less dark, and a little less cruel. The Darkness, which had been active all day, subsided somewhat. It was amazing what power words had, when said by the right person.

"You know," Tsukasa said as he looked up to the stars, "When the moon is new and has no light to shine, the stars remain to give what little light they have. Even on the stormiest of nights, though we may not be able to see them, the stars are always there, patiently waiting for the time when the clouds will part. In a way, I suppose they're a bit like hope. Do you see what I mean, Miyuki-san?"

He waited while I thought about what he had said. "Yeah, I suppose I do." I said, standing up. "Thanks."

He looked at me, with a hint of a smile showing. "Thanks? For what?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not sure." I said, with a smile of my own beginning to grow. "But thanks for it, anyway." And with that, I took my leave.

On my walk back home, I felt much better than I had all day. Don't get me wrong - I was still in a horrible situation, and I knew it. But... Well, I'll just say this: knowing that the stars were there, even in the darkest night, had helped this particular traveler to hope. And, as the expression goes - Where there's hope, there's life.

* * *

NOTE: When I first wrote chapter 18 of book 1, I was being an idiot or something. Although I fixed the error a long time ago, I keep on forgetting to mention it. That's the chapter where Miyuki meets Utau face to face. In that chapter, only one of Utau's charas are with her. It's supposed to be Iru, but I called her Eru throughout that entire chapter. This is fairly significant, so I thought I should let everyone know. Hopefully, those of you who read it in its uncorrected version realized that I was describing Iru(appearance-wise and personality-wise). And if you _did _recognize her as Iru, why in the world didn't you tell me I was messing up!?!?! (I'm not really mad, except at myself for being so stupid... I'm ashamed to call myself a Shugo Chara fan...)

Other than that, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Newest thanks goes to Jackinafrickinbox~ I shall treasure my zebra egg forever... or at least until it hatches. Once it hatches, then I'll treasure the zebra. It's nice to know that my story is special enough to deserve a zebra egg~

And sorry to all you Rima fans out there... Miyuki apparently doesn't like Rima much. That's just how it is, at least at the moment. (sorry, Sai)


	5. Ropes and Rage

I had the same nightmare that night, but only once. And when it was over, I was able to fall back asleep fairly quickly and get a much needed night's rest. Which made me quite a bit more pleasant the next morning. I was beginning to realize that constantly worrying about my predicament was probably going to hurt me more than it could help me, and so I tried not to think about it too much. Not that I could keep something like that completely out of my mind - throughout the day, it was always hovering at the back of my thoughts. But Azami always said not to worry, and admittedly, it _had _helped in the past.

However, now that I had managed to stop absolutely obsessing over it, I had another problem. The Darkness. As I went through the day, I was finding that it was a lot harder to control. Before now, it had always been present, but only overbearing when I was feeling really strongly about something - for example, when very mad, depressed, or sad. Other than those times of radical emotion, I would just be able to ignore it. But now it always seemed to be just under the surface. And at the slightest disappointment or smallest spark of anger, the Darkness would spike up to the point where it could influence my actions indirectly. If I was just slightly irritated at something, then it could turn into full-blown wrath. Or when we had to do a boring assignment in class, my mood would practically drop through the floor, and I'd feel very down about everything. At the very least, I recognized the trouble it was giving me, and was able to keep myself from doing anything rash during these massive mood swings. But even when I could recognize them, it took a while for the emotions to die down.

That morning was the first school assembly for the new semester, where the Guardians addressed all the concerns of the students. It was kind of dull, and there wasn't much to really talk about. One of the students dared to bring up the complaint that some groups were crowding the halls, which brought on a general murmur of whispers from everyone else as many eyes turned to see if I'd say anything about this. But I didn't say anything - I was already in a bad mood because of the Darkness, and I figured it would be best if I didn't put myself in a position to get angry at Rima in front of the whole school. Tadase handled it. In fact, with help from a chara-change, he ran the assembly most of the time. Each of the rest of us Guardians had to say something every now and then, but it thankfully wasn't often.

Then, at the end of the assembly, we announced the new Guardians. Not like anyone needed to be told - the news had spread like wildfire, and practically everyone knew that Kairi and Rima would be the new Jack and Queen. As they came up and got their capes, I had a bit of a flashback to when I'd first received my own cape. It seemed like so long ago, though in reality it had only been a couple of months.

The rest of the school day passed slowly. Lunch was a little bit tense - we had two new people at the table, and it's always a bit harder to have a conversation with someone you don't know. Nor did it help that there was almost constantly one of Rima's 'servants' nearby, getting her a drink, snack, etc. I didn't quite hate her yet, but it was close. Perhaps 'extreme dislike' would be the best way to phrase my current attitude towards her. Still, I tried to be as nice as possible, because life as a Guardian would be a _lot _harder if I couldn't at least feign politeness.

* * *

"Okay, everyone is here! Let's start the meeting!" I heard Ran cheer as Yaya and I walked into the Royal Garden. As I dropped my bad and sat down at the table, I hoped that we would at least talk about something interesting. I was almost lifeless at this point in time - my teacher was turning out to be more boring than I had suspected.

Tadase cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, then began. "Considering Easter's recent actions," _T__hat meaning the kidnapping of __Amu's__chara_, I thought. "It seems like they are getting more daring in their search for the Embryo. I think that we need to start working harder, in order to stop any future schemes and to keep the Embryo out of their hands."

"If I may interject," Kairi said in his serious way, "My studies into the movements of the Guardians has shown that more and more X-eggs are showing up. It seems to me that more emphasis needs to be placed on this in the short-term."

_Wow. Kudos to him - I'm hardly ever able to say anything when the topic of Easter is brought up, unless I __chara__-change. He's great at acting like __nothing's__ wrong,_ I thought, impressed.

"But we already beat Nikaido!" Yaya protested. "So now there shouldn't be as many X-eggs! Right, Amu-chi?"

Amu snapped out of the daze she had been in. Her thoughts still seemed to be elsewhere. In fact, she seemed even more troubled than yesterday. "Oh, yeah," she said, without much conviction. I worried what might be going on with her, and, thanks to the Darkness, that worry doubled and tripled until I could barely stand it.

I decided to try to say something, hoping to get my mind off of the worry. "Speaking of Nikaido, why is he still teaching?" I asked. "I thought his documents were fake."

"It turned out that he actually is a certified teacher," Tadase explained. "He submitted the official documents to us. I made sure that they were authentic, and since they were, I decided that he might as well stay as a teacher."

_And where were the rest of us Guardians in this decision?_ I wondered. "So is he, you know, definitely good now?" I hadn't seen him since that time at the mall, and I still couldn't believe he'd gone from bad to good that quickly.

"It's hard to tell, but I think so," Tadase said.

"Back to the point," Kairi said, though not meanly. "Even without your teacher working for Easter, I think that the X-eggs-"

He was interrupted as all the charas (who had been listening into the discussion, for once) jumped. At least, as much as something that's floating can jump.

"An X-egg!" Kiseki shouted._ Man, that __Kairi__ is good. He's talking about X-eggs, and suddenly there's one nearby. Did he set it up, maybe?_ I doubted it, because he cast a questioning look my way as we all us Guardians practically leaped out of our seats. He probably thought I was responsible. I did my best to show an 'I didn't do it' look back.

We rushed out of the garden (thankfully, the meeting had started kind of late, so all the regular students had gone home), and headed towards where the charas sensed the egg. We had to wait a couple times as Rima caught up, which just increased my dislike for her - I mean, here I was, pumped and ready to catch an X-egg, but she was holding us up. All the boys in my grade thought she was so perfect, but I could see her now for what she was: a weak, spoiled brat. The Darkness probably had a lot to do with such a harsh judgement, but even if I had realized it, I was too ill-tempered to care.

Eventually, we found the X-egg on the school grounds, hovering in a clearing that had a small little gazebo in the middle of it. The egg must have heard us coming, because it was facing us as we broke out of the trees.

"Useless!" It shouted, sending a torrent of X-energy towards us.

Tadase chara-changed. "Holy Crown!" he shouted, and a golden light came from his scepter, shielding us. "Hurry and character transform!" he said back to us as he struggled to keep back the energy.

"Right!" Amu said, looking determined.

"Got it." I said, looking to Azami. We started our chara-nari, and it was only then that I realized that this would be the first time I would transform into Dark Dragon with all that excess Darkness inside of me. As my clothes changed and my wings and such appeared, the X-energy within me rapidly built._ As if it hadn't been strong enough before, now I'm practically encouraging it._

When both Amu and I had finished transforming, I realized that we weren't the only ones who had changed. Rima had, too. Now, she was in a pink, silly-looking clown outfit.

_What?!? That stupid brat can chara-change!?!_ The Darkness made me want to beat her up right here and now, just to teach her a lesson. What I would be teaching her a lesson _about_, I wasn't exactly sure. All I knew was that, at the moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to show her who was boss.

But now wasn't the time for that. Upon seeing our transformations, the X-egg had stopped attacking. It looked sort of uncertain. I didn't blame it - taking out six ordinary kids probably would have been easy for it. But getting rid of six kids with charas, three of whom could chara-nari, was another matter entirely. And so, it turned and fled.

"I'll get it back over here!" I said, before taking off. And when I took off, I _really_ took off. Since the egg was staying low to the ground, I didn't go very high, but I went fast. It must have been all that extra energy, because even during our best flight Azami and I had never been quite like this. I easily overtook the X-egg and got in its way, forcing it to stop. I tried to catch it in one of my glares, but it turned around too quickly, heading back towards the rest of the Guardians.

Once it saw where it was going, it tried to head off in another direction, but a pink blur whizzed in front of it, stopping it once again. The pink blur flew back to Amu's hand, and I realized that this was one of her attacks: Heart Rod. She'd been able to use it for a couple of weeks now, but since I'm not always there when she runs into X-eggs, I'd seen it only once or twice before. But as soon as the pink baton was back in Amu's hand, the egg darted off again. I flew after it, but now it was zigzagging to keep me from catching up. And as fast as I was, its a lot easier for something the size of an egg to turn than it is for a character-transformed person. It would go up, then left, then down to the right, then back up, then forward... I had trouble keeping up.

I saw that Rima, Amu, and the rest of the Guardians had spread out, so that the egg had fewer options on where to go. With all the other directions covered, I went up, to block of its escape route from above.

For a moment, the egg thought I was giving up. But then it realized it was surrounded, and panicked. It headed in Yaya's direction, trying to fly above her head where she wouldn't be able to reach with her giant rattle. I zoomed forward, just managing to grab it before it could make it into the trees, where I wouldn't be able to follow.

"Yamada-san! Watch out!" The words were barely out of Tadase's mouth when I felt ropes tangling around me, pinning my wings to my back and partially tying my arms and legs. I dropped the egg in my surprise as I fell, hitting the ground with a loud thump. I looked up to see that the ropes led to Rima, and I glared at her.

"I was trying to get the egg," she said, sounding completely honest but not at all guilty. "You flew in the way." If I hadn't hated Rima before, I definitely did now. I snapped open my wings, breaking the ropes with little difficulty.

I would have flown at Rima right then and there, but was distracted as Yaya shouted, "Amu-chi! The X-egg is getting away!"

I looked up to see that the X-egg hadn't escaped yet. It must have stuck around to see what was going on. Or maybe it had been stunned by one of the ropes that had wrapped around me. Whatever the reason, it had now recovered its senses and was heading towards Kairi. Kairi stood at the ready, a wooden practice katana in his hands.

Amu prepared to use her Heart Rod to cut off the X-egg's escape one again, but Rima beat her to the punch. "Juggling Party," Rima said calmly, sending half a dozen juggling pins flying towards the egg. Not that she needed that half a dozen; the first one hit the X-egg directly, shattering it. It gave me a flashback to my nightmares, and I unconsciously went back to the my regular form, trembling slightly at the memory of those bad dreams. All of the other Guardians - except perhaps Kairi - looked at Rima in shock. Everyone's character changes and transformations faded, but the stares stayed locked on Rima. She seemed unfazed by everyone's reaction. Either she didn't realize that she'd done something wrong, or she simply didn't care.

"Why would you do something like that?" asked Amu, her voice sounding hurt. "That was somebody's dream!"

Rima remained unconcerned. "It was an X-egg, so I got rid of it."

Suddenly, my anger returned. I was _not _just going to sit around after being tied up like that. I got up and started walking purposefully towards Rima, with murder in my eyes. "What did you mean, I was in your way!?! I had the X-egg, and we could have purified it if you hadn't interfered with your stupid ropes!" I think the Guardians must have seen that I was serious. I mean, _really _serious. They all rushed forward, but I was so intent on absolutely pummeling Rima that I ignored them until they had grabbed my arms, holding me back. I strained against them, wanting to move forward. Luckily for them (and especially lucky for Rima), I wasn't chara-changed, which means the four of them combined could hold me back.

It probably looked pretty comical: all the Guardians straining to hold me back, with Rima standing just a little ways off. Even Kairi and Tadase - both of whom were relatively quiet people - were pitching in to hold back my wrath. I still wasn't even looking at them; all my attention was focused on glaring at Rima. Since I wasn't chara-changed, she was able to meet my gaze. We held each other's stares for probably twenty seconds or so. The Guardians kept on telling me to calm down throughout this time, but I payed no attention to them. Kusukusu was tugging on the sleeve or Rima's shirt, probably trying to get her to stop, but the chara was ignored. Then, Rima turned and walked off, leaving the rest of us in the clearing.

She'd probably been out of sight for a minute before my rage cooled and I finally stopped trying to get out of the grip of the Guardians. Seeing I was done, they let go and backed off a little, giving me some room. They looked at me, almost as shocked at my behavior as they had been when Rima destroyed the X-egg. Yaya even looked a bit afraid, though maybe I was just imagining it.

_Maybe it's scary when a friend can't control her anger, _I thought to myself, feeling bad.

"Are you feeling all right, Miyuki?" Amu asked cautiously. It sounded like she was worried I might get mad again. "Ever since school started back up, you've been acting kind of off."

I sighed, and the Darkness rose again, this time with different waves of emotion: guilt and sadness, with a little bit of fear at being unable to control myself. "I'm sorry, you guys. It's just..." I rubbed my head like I had a headache. "I don't know. I've felt odd since the day before school started. I was hoping I would be back to normal if I just waited a couple days, but it still hasn't gone away. But even if I'm feeling strange, I shouldn't have let my emotions get away from me like that. Sorry." I felt bad that I was lying to them again, but I didn't see much of an option.

"That's all right! Yaya forgives Miyuki-chi!" Yaya said, perking up now that i was back to almost-normal. "Besides, Rima-tan should have been more careful!"

"Speaking of that, are you okay, Yamada-san?" Tadase asked. "That was quite a fall earlier."

I smiled, trying to hide the anger that had sprung up when Yaya had mentioned Rima's name. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little sore, maybe, but okay other than that. But Tadase-kun, I don't think I'm going to be able to get along with Rima. I'll try, for the sake of the Guardians, but I don't think it's going to work out."

Kairi pushed up his glasses and spoke up. "Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on her, Yamada-san. As I understand it, Mashiro-san was almost kidnapped once, and her parents don't get along well because of it."

Amu and Yaya both looked shocked at this news, and Tadase looked serious. I felt sorry for Rima for a moment, but the flash of pity left quickly. I'd never been much of a person to pity anyone, and I was already too angry at Rima to have much sympathy. "That my be so, but it doesn't change how she acts now," I said. "As I said, I'll try to be nice, but that's all I can guarantee."

* * *

"Musashi came up to me after all the action," Azami told me as I walked home. "He said that Utau has a concert this Friday, and Yukari wants you there. Someone will be at your house to pick you up at seven that evening."

"Just what I need: another chance for the X-energy to go bananas," I said, looking down at the ground. I still remembered the last Utau concert I'd been at, the one I'd gone to with Mai. Her singing had hyped up the energy inside of me, making me want to draw out more and more X-eggs. I'd resisted at the time, but I doubted I'd be able to now. What if I couldn't control myself at all? "Any more bad news?" I asked.

"None that I can think of, besides the fact that we're doomed to having to deal with Rima for however long we have to stick with the Guardians," Azami replied.

"No need to remind me," I muttered. We went on in silence for about a block, me walking and Azami floating. Then I said, "What are we going to do to control the Darkness?"

Azami shrugged. "Who said we have to do anything about it? Besides, maybe if it sticks around, you'll get tossed out of the Guardians for a good reason, and you won't have to worry about spying on them. And Kazuomi can't blame you for the X-energy that _he _forced us to take."

"But I don't _want _my emotions ruling my actions," I protested. "That's not to say I want to be completely logical, but I want to be able to think about what I'm doing as I'm doing it, at the very least."

"We were eventually able to control the amount of X-energy we had before," Azami said. "I don't see why we can't do it again. It probably just takes time to adjust to."

"You're probably right," I said, though I thought exactly the opposite.

"Of course I'm right," Azami replied smugly. "When am I _not _right."

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. "You're wrong quite a lot of the time, actually. You just never admit it."

She smacked me on the head, and I jokingly waved my arms in the air, trying to swat her away like I would a bug.

"What's that?" Azami asked. I lowered my arms and looked around, but saw nothing. "Stupid. I mean that scar on your arm."

I looked at my arm, and saw a couple thin scars that ran parallel to each other. "And _you're _calling _me _stupid? Those are the scars you gave me that time you scratched me."

"Not _those_," she said as she floated down to my arm. "This. I'd never noticed it before." She pointed to a faint scar. The scar ran from my wrist to almost halfway up my lower arm, and was maybe a quarter of an inch thick at its center.

"Oh, that," I said. "I haven't really thought about it in a while. I can't remember it well since I was so little at the time, but I broke my arm when I was about four years old. I had to have surgery, so that they could fit the bone back together and get it to heal. The scar is where they had to cut the arm open."

"How'd you break it?" asked Azami, curious about this new tidbit of information.

"I fell down the stairs, or something like that."

Azami laughed. "That's so clumsy! You couldn't even handle stairs without breaking an arm?"

"Give me a break!" I said, smiling. I was glad for an opportunity to just joke around. "I was _four_. Toddlers aren't all that coordinated."

"But as far as I can tell, most four-year-olds don't break their arm because of it," Azami pointed out, still laughing at me. I took a swipe at her, but she dodged. Then I started laughing myself. It was good to know I could still joke around - with all the X-energy waying me down, I had started to think that maybe I couldn't anymore. It felt good, and it reminded me of what Tsukasa had said yesterday. Even when things looked grim, I could still laugh. There was still hope. It probably wouldn't be enough to get me out of my situation, but maybe it would help, in its own way.


	6. Amu's New Egg

I was beginning to get tired of the Darkness. Actually, not beginning; I _was _tired of the Darkness. Constantly being in some bad mood or another was wearing me out. I still had the nightmare, and though it wasn't as bad as that first night, it nonetheless kept me from getting as much sleep as I should. And even though I'd been able to joke around with Azami on the walk home yesterday, that didn't last long. Almost as soon as I got home, the Darkness resurfaced with a vengeance, and it overwhelmed me for the first time since getting the newest boost of X-energy. I had sat curled up under my covers for hours, unable to snap out of it. Eventually, I must have drifted off into sleep, because when I woke up this morning I was back to normal. At least, as normal as I can be with X-energy coursing through my veins. How I'd held off the Darkness that long was a wonder in itself. With the large amount I had in my body now, it was a miracle I'd been able to keep it away one day, let alone two.

"Hey! Miyuki-chi! I'm talking to you!" Yaya's fist pounded lightly on my shoulder as I snapped my attention back to the present.

"Oh, sorry," I said. "What were you saying?" It was right after school, and we were in the Royal Garden. We were waiting for Amu and Rima, so that we could start the meeting. Tadase and Kairi were already there, and were listening to Yaya and me.

"I was asking Miyuki-chi if she felt any better today!" Yaya said, pouting because I hadn't been listening.

I could lie and say I was back to normal, but I felt sure that Tadase and Kairi would be able to see through that fairly easily. If anything, I felt worse today, thanks to the Darkness from last night. Still, I didn't want Yaya to worry. "I'm a little bit better," I answered after a short pause.

Yaya was about to say something else, but then Rima came in. I immediately felt angry, but I refrained from saying or doing anything that I would regret. Amu came in a couple seconds after Rima had sat down, and I noticed once again that she didn't seem to be her normal self. She dragged her feet slightly, and it seemed like she was having a tough time meeting anyone's eyes. It made me feel guilty; now that Nadeshiko was gone, I was probably one of her closest friends, and I should have already asked her what was wrong. In my defense, now that I wasn't in her class anymore, I wasn't able to see her as much. But that wasn't any excuse. I had been glad about Mai noticing when I wasn't feeling myself, and yet I couldn't be that kind of friend for Amu. Thanks to the Darkness, the guilt was almost unbearable, but I managed to fight it off by resolving to talk to her after the Guardians meeting today.

The Guardians meeting started, but I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't catch a word of what was said. But suddenly everyone stopped talking, which caught my attention. I looked up to see that everyone except Amu (whose gaze was still downcast) was looking at something behind me and Amu. Tadase and Yaya both seemed pleasantly surprised. Before I had the chance to turn around, a felt a familiar hand come down on the top of my head and start ruffling my hair. The same thing happened to Amu, and we both turned to see Kukai.

"Hey! Did you miss me?" he said, smiling.

"Kukai!" Amu and I said in unison. Both of us were happy to see him. I hadn't realized how different it seemed without him around. Everything seemed so much more serious when he wasn't here to cheer us up.

Yaya ran up and tackle-hugged him, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Kukai! Yaya missed you! Did you get sent back to Seiyo? Yay!"

"Woah, slow down there," Kukai said, ruffling Yaya's hair as he sat up. "I just thought I'd drop by to see how you guys are doing without me." He stood up and looked around the table. Then, in practically the blink of an eye, Kukai had Kairi in a friendly headlock.

"And you must be the new Jack!" Kukai said, messing up Kairi's hair.

"Er, yes," Kairi answered, looking uncomfortable. "And I suppose you are Souma Kukai?"

"The one and only!" Kukai said, letting go of Kairi and doing his customary thumbs-up pose. Then, Kukai turned back to Amu and I. Both of us were basically speechless. "And I see that you two are already having trouble without me around."

My mouth was probably partly open in surprise. Kukai had barely been in here a minute, and yet he could already tell that both Amu and I had some sort of problem. Then again, both of us had obviously been distracted by our thoughts when Kukai came in - neither me nor Amu had even heard the door open when he entered. I'd been trying to hide my radical moods, but I guess it was easily noticeable anyway. When I looked over at Amu, I noticed that she had averted her gaze downward, trying to hide the fact that her eyes were beginning to well up with tears.

I think Kukai noticed, too, because he quickly went to distracting both her and me. "All right, you two! There's only one thing we can do about this!" Before I knew it, he had my wrist in one hand and Amu's in the other. "Training time!" He dashed off, pulling the two of us with him. Amu and I did our best to keep up as we ran out the door, through the school grounds, and off to who-knows-where.

* * *

"Now wasn't that fun?" Kukai asked as he sat down in the middle of a park bench. We'd ended up at a nearby park, after running at top speed for a while. Amu and I were both gasping for breath as we flopped down onto the bench on either side of him. Kukai waited for us to catch our breath, and then spoke again. "So what's up with you two? Are you guys not getting along with the new Guardians, or something like that?"

"That's part of the problem," I muttered, thinking of Rima.

Kukai was about to respond to me, but Amu spoke up. "Hey, Kukai... Do you ever..." She trailed off.

"Ever what?" he asked.

"Do you ever doubt yourself?" Amu said softly.

"Oh, sure. Of course I doubt myself," Kukai said, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Like, since I'm at a new school now, I'm doubting whether I want to be on the soccer team. Maybe I should try out for basketball or something else instead - you know, to keep challenging myself." I nearly laughed - this seemed like such a silly thing to worry about, when compared to my problems with Easter. Then again, Kukai is so sport-oriented; what team he chooses probably has a massive impact on his life.

"Yeah, but do you doubt who you really are?" Amu asked. "Even when you're trying to choose a sport, you know that you want to keep on improving yourself, getting better at whatever your choice is. Do you ever doubt about that?"

Kukai was about ot answer, but a powerful X-energy wind suddenly hit us. We managed to brace ourselves for a second, but then all three of us went flying, landing in a heap on the ground with me on the bottom and Amu on top. We quickly disentangled ourselves, and I looked up angrily to see Hosina Utau (complete with black wings) standing barely twenty feet away, with a swarm of X-eggs surrounding her. In my anger at being knocked over, I almost shouted something to the extent of, 'what are you doing!?! I'm on you're side!', but decided that that would be stupid to say in front of Amu and Kukai.

"Utau-chan!" said a little angel chara who was floating next to Amu. "You came to get me!"

"Who the heck is that?" I whispered to Azami as I got up. I hadn't seen her before - where in the world had she come from?"

"Beats me," Azami said. "She's been secretly following Amu around all day. She wasn't very good at hiding herself, though."

"Eru? I didn't even know you were here," Utau said rudely to the little angel. "And why would I need a pathetic chara like you? I've already got a replacement." A nearby X-egg floated closer to her, and I noticed that it was different from the others. It was too far away for me to see it well, but it seemed like some sort of pattern was on it in various shades of black and grey.

Amu recognized it. "Dia! That's my egg!"

"What!?!" Kukai exclaimed. "Amu's egg?"

I was just as confused as Kukai. Not only did Amu apparently have a new egg, but it had somehow turned into an X-egg. And then my guilt level went practically off the scale as I realized something. The other day, when I confronted Rima, I nearly scratched Amu as I turned to face her. I'd thought that I hadn't seen a scratch, but suppose I did manage to break the skin? Even a tiny cut could do a lot of damage. What if I was the one responsible for this?

"Oh? Are you sure it's your egg?" Utau taunted. "It seems to like me best." The egg circled Utau once, as if to prove the point.

Amu's gaze grew more intense. "Give me back my egg, Utau!"

Utau smiled cruelly. "If you want it back, you'll have to fight. If you win, you can have Dia. If I win, then I'll take your Humpty Lock."

"What does my lock have to do with this?" Amu asked.

"Your lock pairs with Ikuto's key," Utau said. "It only seems fitting that I should have it." Suddenly, the ordinary X-eggs launched themselves towards us. Kukai chara-changed, using his skateboard to shield himself and for Amu, who still seemed in shock. I quickly character changed as well, but while that made me stronger, I didn't have anything I could use to block the eggs. The best I could do was try and shield myself with my arms. Maybe I was able to absorb X-energy, but that was little defense when the X-eggs themselves were hurling themselves against me.

As soon as all the X-eggs had stopped attacking us, Amu shouted, "I don't want to fight you, Utau!"

"Why?" she said. "Fighting is how you make yourself stronger in this world. Only fools like Eru can't recognize that."

"She's sort of right on that part," Kukai admitted. "In sports, the best way to challenge yourself is to compete against others."

I couldn't believe that Kukai was siding with Utau. Then again, I suppose I agreed with what she was saying, too. Competition _is _a good way to improve yourself. I simply wasn't going to say so out loud.

Without warning, Utau became wrapped with light. I guessed she was character-transforming, which surprised me. The light that shone around her somehow seemed darker than when Amu character-transformed, but it was still bright - in other words, nothing like my own chara-nari. Expecting trouble, I character-transformed as well. If Utau wanted a fight, then I'd be more than happy to get involved. I guess that technically, she was picking a fight with Amu, but that didn't matter. Even if Utau and I were supposedly on the same side, I couldn't help but think how fun it would be to fight her, chara-nari versus chara-nari.

I shouted out my customary 'chara-nari: Black Dragon!' right as Utau called out the name of her own transformation: Lunatic Charm. She now wore a short red dress-like outfit, with red rubbery boots that went up to above her knees. Two large black wings sprouted from her back. Other than the color, her wings really weren't anything like mine. Hers were smaller, and more stylized. Mine were big, and actually looked like a massive version of a bat's wings. Still, I hoped she could fly with her wings - an aerial battle would be amazingly fun, in my opinion.

"Aren't you going to character transform, Amu?" Utau asked. "If not, this battle will be short." Utau tensed, prepared to attack, but Amu remained where she was, looking conflicted. Surely Amu wasn't going to let herself be beaten?

"Amu, come on!" I said. "You can't just let her push you around like this!"

"I agree with Miyuki," Kukai said. "I'll take care of the X-eggs, but you've gotta take care of things here." The X-eggs in question were currently grouped together a little ways behind us, not really knowing what to do now that Utau was basically ignoring them. They jumped a little at what Kukai was saying, but since they weren't being pursued yet, they stayed where they were.

But what Kukai and I were saying didn't seem to get through to Amu. "I really want my egg back, but... I still don't want to have to fight Utau."

Utau smirked. "Then this really _will_ be easy." She spread out her wings, and I tensed - either she was going to fly, or she had some attack in store. "Nightmare Lorelei!" Utau shouted, and a wave of dark butterflies came racing towards us. The worst of it was aimed at Amu, and I instinctually moved in front of her to shield her. I opened my wings to make myself bigger, and I braced myself for the attack. When it hit, it was nothing like I had expected. The attack looked so black that I thought that perhaps it was made of X-energy, and so I'd assumed that I might be able to absorb it. It did feel similar to X-energy in a way, but it was still different. I couldn't absorb it, and so I had to take the full brunt of the attack. And it hurt. Not unbearably so, but enough that it definitely wasn't making me very happy. Each of the little butterflies hit me with a fair amount of speed, and to make it worse, they felt sharp. As if that wasn't bad enough, it felt like they burst on contact, inflicting more damage. My thin wings felt the most vulnerable, and I involuntarily folded them a little bit to reduce how much they could be hit.

Without my X-energy, I might have ended up shaking by the time the attack was over. Or perhaps I would have been unable to remain on my feet. But for once, I was actually grateful for the massive amount of Darkness in me - my body hurt, but other than that, I was more or less unharmed. If anything, all the attack had done was provoke me.

Utau glared at me. "This fight is between me and Amu! Stay out of it! That is, unless you think Amu is too pitiful to defend herself. Your actions say it loud and clear - even _you_ think she's weak."

I practically growled. "Amu is simply above fighting with people like you!" I shouted to Utau, hoping that there was some truth to the words. Then, I turned partially to face Amu. "Why don't you fight, Amu? Are you just going to give up your egg and the lock?"

Amu looked down at the ground, her fists clenched. "I want my egg back more than anything." Then she looked up, her eyes locked with Utau's. "But I don't want to fight you, Utau! We seem a lot a like, and I really admire you! I can't believe that you really want to be this cruel, and I know that there's a nicer part of you. If there isn't, then Eru wouldn't be around. I know that you're a good person, and I refuse to fight you!"

The lock that hung from Amu's neck began to glow, more brightly than I'd ever seen it. I was barely a foot away from her, and the light hit me straight-on. And wherever it hit my skin, it burned. I quickly launched myself into the air, flying straight upwards until I was far enough away that I couldn't feel the pain any more. I hovered in place and looked down. The light was so bright that I could hardly see Amu, and the light spread so far out that even Kukai and Utau were caught in its rays. Then the light seemed to pulse as it completely enveloped Amu in what looked like an extremely bright chara-nari. But who was she transforming with? Even though I was fairly high up, my strong dragon eyes could see that Ran, Miki, and Su were all floating nearby Kukai. I checked over by Utau, but Amu's egg (which I now could tell had a faint diamond pattern on it) was still over there.

When most of the light had disappeared, I heard Amu say, "Chara-nari: Amulet Angel!" She was now wearing a pink and white outfit, complete with ribbons, lacey frills, and angel wings. I nearly gagged. And I had thought that Amulet Heart and Amulet Clover were girly. At least Amulet Heart is sporty and athletic, and Amulet Clover... actually, there is no redeeming quality to Amulet Clover. But this... this goes way off the scale, as far as girliness goes. Though to be fair, my own character transformation has a dress. But nothing on the frilly level of this 'Amulet Angel,' or whatever Amu called it. I guessed that Amu must have transformed with that little angel chara, though I could hardly believe that - wasn't the angel Utau's chara?

But the Humpty Lock wasn't done yet. It continued to shine, and this time it was Kukai who became surrounded in light. After a couple seconds, he burst out of the light, zooming upward into the sky. He was dressed in a green aviator-like outfit, and I soon saw what made him able to fly: a rocket-powered skateboard. "Chara-nari: Sky Jack!" He quickly zoomed back to the ground, and then he nearly flipped out. "Wait, I character transformed too!?! What's up with these clothes? And what's going on!?!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the light of the lock pulse again, and I looked over to Utau. I saw the diamond egg float in front of Utau, and a fissure appeared around its center. Then the two parts of the egg flew apart. Surprisingly, it wasn't a normal X-character, as I had been expecting. Rather, this looked almost like a regular chara. She wore a simple, deep-purple dress with matching gloves, and the dress had three yellow diamond-shaped buttons going down the front. Her eyes were yellow, and gave off a feeling of emptiness. Her yellow hair was swept off to one side, held back by a darker yellow hairband. The only real indication that she was anything out of the ordinary was a dim gray diamond on her hairband, which was almost completely covered by a big white 'X'.

And then - as if all this wasn't enough - light shrouded Utau and the X-diamond chara from view, meaning yet another character transformation was about to occur. This is all getting a bit much to take in: first Amu transforming with Utau's chara, then Kukai transforming with Daichi, and now Utau transforming with Amu's newly-hatched X-chara. _As long as we're at it, why doesn't Yaya burst into the scene so I can chara-nari with Pepe? _I thought sarcastically.

Soon, the light was gone, to reveal Utau in a character transformation that I could only describe as stunning. She shouted out the name of her transformation - Dark Jewel - as I looked her over. The bulk of her outfit consisted of a long, sleevless jacket, which was dark-purple on the outside and yellow on the inside. She wore black high-heels, long netted socks, short black shorts, and long purple gloves. To top it off, a headband and two yellow, diamond-shaped clips held back her hair in two long ponytails. All in all, calling the outfit 'stylish' would have been an understatement. I was impressed, and I'm not one to obsess over the latest fashions and other such things. The loss of her wings was my only disappointment - so much for trying out aerial combat.

Finally, the light of the Humpty Lock faded. It still glowed faintly, but no more than it usually did whenever Amu was character-transformed. I flew back down to the ground next to Amu. Everyone was stunned by all the sudden transformations. Kukai was the first to recover.

"All right, Amu - as I said, you take care of Utau, and I'll get rid of the X-eggs," Kukai said with a confident grin. "Miyuki, you'd better make sure she wins. If not, ten laps around the school for the both of you!" Before we could respond, he rocket-boarded away, after the X-eggs. As I watched him go, I couldn't help but think that I'd be hard-pressed to win a flying speed contest against him - jet propulsion has its advantages, I guess.

"Now that we've both transformed," Utau said, forcing us to bring our attention back to her, "We can test our powers. The strength of Dia versus weak little Eru. If you aren't willing to start the battle, then I will. Shining Black!" Utau reached her hand in our direction, and many little black diamonds came flying towards us.

"Blazing Rain!" I shouted, aiming my fire attack at the oncoming diamonds. The two attacks met in midair, with each diamond and fireball making a mini explosion as they hit. I cut off my rain of fire as soon as I saw Utau cut off her attack.

Utau glared at me. "I told you before, stay out of this! Have Amu fight for herself!"

Her commanding tone only made me want to fight more, but there was a ring of truth to her words. It did seem to me like Amu needed to fight this battle herself. I looked over to Amu in her eyes, but I saw only determination there. What the determination was about, I wasn't sure, but I thought it was enough of a reason for me to back down for now. I jumped off the ground and flew upward, circling above the two opponents. I would watch the battle from here, and only help again if Amu was in real danger.

Utau saw that I was out of the way for now, so she turned back to Amu. "Now we have the battle to ourselves; no more silly distractions. Shining Black!" Once again, the black diamonds came hurtling towards Amu. But this time, I held myself back from stopping the attack. The diamonds slammed into Amu, and she did her best to stand her ground. She managed to stay standing, but I could see that the attack was taking its toll. I noticed Amu saying something through the blackness of the attack; presumably, she was talking to Eru. With the attack still going on, a rod with a white flag attached appeared in Amu's hands.

"White Flag!" Amu said, sitting on the ground and waving the flag. Utau stopped her attack and just stared, so taken aback by the level of wimpiness of the technique. Then, Utau strode forward, her eyes shining with the feeling of victory. I prepared myself to land in front of her, to top her from doing anything to Amu. But before I had the chance to act, both of their character transformations faded, and Utau collapsed to the ground. I could see that Amu, too, didn't seem quite right - it looked to me like her hands were shaking. I quickly landed next to Amu, letting my own transformation fade. Kukai also came back and let his transformation drop. For a moment, I wondered where the X-eggs were. But then again, I guessed that was secondary on the list of priorities - we had to make sure Amu was alright first.

"Amu! Are you okay?" Kukai asked.

"Yeah, I'm just suddenly... so weak," Amu said. Eru was lying on the ground, looking completely knocked out. I looked back over to Utau, and guessed that she, too, was feeling too weak to stand. Next to her, the diamond X-egg lay sitting on the ground. I considered dashing over and quickly grabbing the egg, but my thoughts were distracted by a new arrival.

"That was quite the face-off," Ikuto said sarcastically, jumping down from a branch of a nearby tree. I was surprised; why hadn't I noticed him before? Turning to Utau, he said, "You should apologize."

Utau, who had been ecstatic to see Ikuto, now looked outraged. "I didn't do anything wrong! Why do you always side with Amu?"

"Just say your sorry," Ikuto said, looking slightly annoyed at Utau's refusal to be contrite.

Utau glared at Ikuto, then jumped on him, knocking him over. "Idiot!" she said, sounding more whiney than angry. "Don't you know that I love you!?!" She leaned down and kissed him. And it wasn't just a little peck on the lips. This was the kind of full-blown display of affection that most people really didn't appreciate seeing out in public.

I watched, just as surprised as Kukai and Amu. This wasn't something that kids our age normally saw. But Ikuto soon pushed her away, looking really angry.

"Stop it, Utau! We're siblings!" he shouted.

"Wait... what!?!" I said, completely shocked.

"Siblings!?!" Kukai and Amu said in unison.

Utau got off of Ikuto and turned away from us, pouting in her own way. "That's right - I'm his little sister by blood. But there's no one who feels more strongly for him than me. Do you have a problem with that?" She said, turning to glare at Amu, Kukai, and I.

Amu, who by now had gotten up off of the ground, backed away. "No, no problem," she said, trying not to provoke Utau again.

Ikuto, who apparently had ignored this part of the conversation, now turned and left. "See you later, Amu-chan," he said teasingly as he walked away, purposefully making Utau angrier. Utau glared at Amu, but then turned and chased after Ikuto. Me, Kukai, and Amu were left behind, still a bit in shock from everything.

* * *

All three of us walked together for a while, but Kukai eventually had to turn off onto a different street so that he could get home. Amu and I thought about going by the Royal Garden since we had left our school bags there, but we figured that the other Guardians would have gone home by now. Meaning our bags had either been taken home by one of them, or else were still locked in the garden. Either way, it seemed like a good idea to head home for the night. I decided to walk with Amu back to her house, to give her some company. I was supposed to be her friend, and it seemed like Amu needed a friend now more than ever. Azami didn't seem to like my concern for Amu, but that didn't really matter right now. Ran, Miki, and Su were all floating around Amu, and Eru was lying in Amu's hands, still unconscious.

"So are you going to tell the Guardians everything?" I asked after a while of walking in silence.

Amu didn't say anything for a few moments. When I was beginning to think that maybe she hadn't heard my question, she finally answered, "Yes, I will. I should've told all of you earlier. I found Dia's egg Monday morning, and I was going to tell you guys, but then I never had the chance. It changed into an X-egg that afternoon, after school. Then yesterday, I kept on looking for an opportunity to tell all of you, but then we were so occupied with the new Guardians that I still didn't get the chance." She looked down at the ground, then continued. "Actually, I'm not sure if I would have told you yesterday, even if I had the chance. I thought that I'd failed as the Joker."

I shook my head. "You haven't failed as the Joker. You're just..." I paused, trying to think of how to phrase this. "You're just having a little trouble figuring out who you are. With four charas, I can only imagine how hard that must be. And if it makes you feel any better, then I'll tell you this: I doubt myself almost everyday."

Amu looked at me, surprised. "Really? You always seem so sure of yourself."

I shook my head again. She couldn't be further from the truth. "I'm nowhere _near _sure of myself, though Azami probably wishes I was. I question my actions all the time. And I wonder if a dragon is really what I want to be." Just talking about my doubts made the Darkness within me rise, but I kept going. "There was even a time when Azami nearly turned into an X-egg. None of the Guardians were around at the time, and so I never mentioned it to anybody. I managed to snap myself out of it and believe in myself again, but it was a really close call. But if I can keep Azami from turning into an X-egg, I'm sure that you can get Dia back. I mean, you're the Joker - you've got three great charas and the Humpty Lock to help you." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Azami do a fake gagging motion, but I ignored her. If she had a problem with me encouraging a friend, then she could just go home without me.

"Do you really think I can get her back?" Amu asked. "She transformed with Utau... What if she's actually not my chara anymore?"

"Don't be silly. Of course she's your chara," I said. "All you need to do is find out why she was born, and what you want to become. After that, I'm sure she'll come back to you."

Amu looked over at me, with a grateful smile on her face and hope back in her eyes. "Thanks, Miyuki."

* * *

First of all, I want to say that I am SO sorry for not getting out this chapter and other past chapters sooner. I mean, it's the summer - I should be able to finish more. I have reasons (like trying to work on this for over three hours one night, but only getting a couple paragraphs written), but they are no excuse for it. Secondly, I want to say that I am SO sorry that this is another 'almost exactly like the anime' chapters. I felt like it was kind of essential to the plot concerning Amu, though, so I had to put it in. Hopefully, this will be the last of these kind of chapters, though I can't guarantee it...

Other than that, there's not much I need to say, except thanks to all my readers and reviewers~! (as you might have been able to tell already, I'm trying to cut down on these post-chapter author's comments things... Hopefully, you guys and girls realize that I appreciate you always, even when I don't write a post-chapter comment thing.)


	7. Combining Powers

"Don't worry, Amu! We'll help you get your egg back!" Yaya said. Amu had just finished recounting the story of her X-egg to the rest of the Guardians. It was Thursday, the day after our battle with Utau, and the cold sprinkle of rain that was coming down outside of the Royal Garden seemed to match the mood of Amu's story. But, of course, neither Yaya nor the others were going to let this get them down; as I had suspected, Tadase and Yaya were eager to help Amu out. To Kairi and Rima's credit, they listened attentively during Amu's retelling, despite the fact that they probably didn't know Amu well enough to care.

Tadase, whose face had been grim throughout all of Amu's news, now turned to Eru. The little angel chara was sitting on the table in front of Amu, looking a tad bit nervous. Perhaps she felt guilty that she was siding with Utau's enemies. "Is Utau really using her songs to turn people's eggs into X-eggs?" Tadase asked, the look in his eyes telling me that it was hard for him to believe this. I wondered why it seemed like such a shock - I mean, we'd seen X-eggs come out of people at that one Utau concert we were all at. Had he not believed it then? Or was there something more behind this? And then it hit me: at that concert, Azami had overheard that angry conversation between Ikuto and Tadase, when they had mentioned that Tadase used to call Ikuto 'big brother.' And now, with the information from yesterday, I knew that Utau was Ikuto's sister. What if there was a connection between Tadase and the two siblings?

Eru nodded sadly. "She's taking a lot of X-eggs, but I know she doesn't really want to do it! She's only doing it because Easter tells her to!" Now that I really listened to Eru's voice, I noticed that it somehow sounded nasaly in a goody-goody sort of way - one of multiple reasons I was starting to dislike the chara.

"We can't let Utau get away with this," Tadase said to all of us, after some thought. "She can't go on using people's dreams like this. And as Yuiki-san said, we'll do everything we can to get your egg back, Hinamori-san." Tadase and Amu looked straight at each other for a moment, but then Amu blushed and looked away. Tadase didn't seem flustered, but I thought I could see the beginnings of a blush coming to his cheeks as well. Kusukusu giggled.

"So what do you propose we do, King?" asked Kairi. Rima now acted like she was ignoring the conversation, though it seemed obvious to me that she was listening intently. She wasn't sincerely concerned about what was going on (which made me hate her even more), but it would be hard _not _to be at least distantly interested.

"We'll confront Utau after her next concert," Tadase replied. "We can stop any X-eggs she makes, and after she's done singing, we'll get Amu's chara back. By force, if we can't get her to give it up. Yuiki-san, do you know when her next concert is?"

Yaya was always up-to-date on all the news about anything popular; of course she knew. "She's got a concert tomorrow night, at the big concert complex downtown!"

I doubted Yukari would be happy with this plan. Because if I had to be with the Guardians, then I wouldn't be able to help collect X-eggs at the concert, which was what I was guessing she needed me to do. And if we _did _go up against Utau, Yukari would probably force me to reveal my true colors. Easter probably didn't even need me as a spy anymore - now that they had Kairi, what was holding them back from making me go all-out against the Guardians? I flashed my glance over to Kairi, wanting to know what he thought of this plan. But he seemed perfectly calm, untroubled by the idea.

"In practicality, that will be next to impossible, King," Kairi said. "Utau is so famous that I doubt we could get near her. And at a concert, too many people would be around for us to be able to do anything. That's not even counting the fact that none of us have tickets."

I nearly sighed with relief, because Kairi was completely right. The plan would never work, which meant that there would be no need for Yukari to make me fight the others.

This seemed to be a let-down for Tadase. "I suppose you're right," he admitted. "But there must be someway that we can stop Utau and get Hinamori-san's egg back."

"You guys shouldn't go to any trouble for me," Amu mumbled, avoiding everyone's eyes. "If I can't even keep an 'X' off of my own egg, maybe I don't deserve a fourth chara."

"That's silly, Amu-chan!" Ran piped up. "We've got to get her back!"

"Yaya thinks Ran is right!" Yaya said, as enthusiastic as always. "Utau can't keep taking X-eggs from people, and especially not from you!"

Amu smiled, but it was weak. It didn't look like she had much hope for getting her egg back. "Thanks, Yaya. But what can we possibly do?"

Conversation stopped for about a minute as we all tried to think of some way to halt Utau's X-egg harvesting. Or, more precisely, Tadase, Yaya, and Amu tried to come up with some sort of idea. Kairi and I wouldn't be coming up with a plan for obvious reasons, and it didn't look like Rima cared enough to stress what small brain she had with such thoughts. Actually, now that I thought about it, I doubted she even had any brain worth considering; she probably had her servants do all her thinking for her. _I really hate that girl. No, not girl - that doesn't describe her accurately. Thing? Spoiled brat? Monster? _I thought for a moment, then came up with the perfect title. I had trouble holding back a smile of maliciousness as I thought, _She's a queenly pain in the butt. That describes her perfectly._

When a minute had passed and no one came up with any helpful ideas, Tadase spoke up. "We can all think about it tonight, and we can try to come up with a plan tomorrow. For now, let's all go home."

* * *

As I walked to school the next morning, Azami and I wondered how Yukari would react to yesterday's meeting. I trusted that Kairi had told her all about it, since they were brother and sister. But, in all truth, neither Azami nor I had any idea what Yukari would do. Perhaps she wold just ignore the Guardians until they were a more immediate threat. Or maybe she had something more devious in mind. We ended our speculation by deciding to see if I could talk to Kairi alone sometime today, to figure out if his sister was planning something.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long, nor did I even have to look for him. As soon as I walked in the front entranceway of the school, I saw him leaning up against the wall, looking over a couple of pages of homework. It seemed like an odd place to be working on anything, and I guessed he had ulterior motives for studying there. As if to confirm my guess, Musashi saw us and said something to Kairi, making him look up from his homework.

Kairi put his homework back in his bag, then came over to me. "Deuce, I'm glad I could catch you before school started. My sister wanted me to tell you something. Let's talk over here." As he led me over to a noisier hallway where we would be less likely overheard, I thought, _He says he's glad to see me, but he certainly doesn't sound like it. He just can't seem to lighten up. It makes me miss Kukai. _As soon as we were in a good, noisy spot, Kairi started talking.

"I told my sister about the meeting yesterday-" _I knew it, _I thought to myself. "-and she doesn't want to take the chance of the Guardians someday deciding to interfere with Utau. Until she can come up with a better solution, she wants you to volunteer to capture X-eggs at all of Utau's concerts."

"How would that help?" I asked.

"The Guardians won't bother as much with Utau if they think you are taking care of the X-eggs," Kairi explained. "You can offer to go and collect the X-eggs, then bring one or two of them to school so that Hinamori-san can purify them. It gives you an excuse to be at every Utau concert in the area, and since you'll only be bringing a couple back to be purified, my sister will still be able to accumulate a large amount of X-eggs. And after being at so many concerts, you'll be able to testify to the fact that it would be impossible to even try to get the diamond egg back." He said this all more like a report than an actual conversation. Which I guess made sense - he was just relaying orders, after all. "The Guardians are aware of your parents'... lax rules when it comes to staying out at night, correct?"

"Yeah," I said. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I simply wanted to be sure. If they already know that, then they won't ask questions about why your parents would let you go to every concert."

I nodded in understanding, then waited a moment to see if he was done talking. He seemed to be, so I decided to move on to a new topic of conversation. I'll admit that I was curious about Kairi. He already seemed to know everything about me, thanks to Easter and the records of the Guardians. I, on the other hand, knew next to nothing about him. "May I ask you a question?" I said.

"Go right ahead, Yamada-san," Kairi said courteously.

I tried to think of a way to phrase it without sounding nosy, but that was next to impossible. "Do you live around here, Sanjo-kun? Because I had never seen you around before you started coming to Seiyo."

If Kairi was surprised by me asking a personal question, he didn't show it. "No. Before now, I lived in a town quite far away from here. Now that my sister wants me to help her, I'm living with her closer to the downtown area. And now, if you'll excuse me, class will be starting soon," Kairi nodded his head politely, then went off in the direction of his classroom. Looking at a clock and realizing that he was right, I headed back to my own room. I wished I could talk with Azami about everything Kairi had said concerning the plan, but that wasn't something I could easily do when there were so many other students around.

When I got to my class, a lot of the conversations suddenly ceased, which could only mean one thing: people were talking about me. I wondered what it could be this time. I suppose they could have been talking about my dislike of Rima, but I'd thought that they were already bored with that. As I sat down in my seat and the conversations around me gradually resumed (though more softly than before), Mai came up and greeted me.

"Have you heard what the new rumor is about you?" she asked curiously.

"No, but I'm dying to know. What is it?" I said.

Mai smiled a little bit, as if glad that she would be the one to let me know. "Well, everyone saw you in the hallway with Sanjo-kun this morning. No one hung around long enough to hear what you two were saying, but they're all thinking that something special must be going on between the two of you."

My mouth practically fell open in disbelief, causing Mai to start giggling at my expression. Me with _Kairi_? That seemed unlikely. What dragon in her right mind would fall for that stick-in-the-mud? Azami was practically dying of laughter as she rolled around in middair, unable to control her amusement at this new rumor. Or maybe she, like Mai, was laughing at my expression. I quickly composed myself somewhat, then said to Mai, "How in the world does anybody get that out of us talking to each other? Can I not talk to a guy without people thinking that something more is going on?"

Mai stopped giggling, but the smile stayed on her face. She knew I was just joking around with my questions. "Well, you _are _a Guardian," she pointed out. "You can't even walk to the bathroom without people scrutinizing your every footstep." We both laughed at this. Sadly, it was almost true - the whole student body was so obsessed with the awesomeness of the Guardians that if we did anything out of the usual, everyone would know about it in a matter of minutes. "And try looking at it from our point of view - you hardly ever talk to anyone outside of our class in the mornings. You normally come straight to the room, so maybe this time everyone has a right to be curious."

"I guess that's true," I relented. "Still, knowing this class, the rumor will get pretty exaggerated. By the end of the day, everyone will probably think that Kairi and I are running away to the Bahamas," I said sarcastically.

Mai's grin widened. "Did I not tell you that part of the rumor?"

We both started laughing, but soon enough, the bell rang and we had to get back to our seats. The class was boring, and without anything to preoccupy my mind, the Darkness slowly started to rise. I'd just had another attack of the Darkness last night, which had rendered me hopeless for at least a couple of hours. I had thought that maybe I would be safe from it for at least a day, but no dice. In fact, I would have sworn that it got worse every time it managed to drown me in despair, rather than wear off over time. But it had never been so strong as to overwhelm me around other people, and today wasn't anything new as far as that was concerned. I managed to get through class, though the Darkness had been strong enough that I hadn't learned a thing.

When lunch time came around, I found out that the topic of Kairi and me had spread throughout the school. No surprise there. By the time I'd received my lunch, Yaya, Kairi, and Rima were at the table, and Yaya was grilling Kairi on what had happened between us. And as soon as I sat down, Yaya turned her attention to me.

"Miyuki-chi! Kairi won't tell me what's going on!" Yaya complained. "But you'll tell me, won't you, Miyuki-chi?"

I looked over at Kairi, but he pretended to be too interested in his food to notice. "Uh, once everyone else gets here. Then I'll tell everyone."

Yaya pouted, but didn't argue. Thankfully, Amu and Tadase arrived soon, which meant I didn't have to deal with Yaya's grumpiness for long. In fact, once Amu and Tadase had taken their sheets, she was back to her regular inquisitive self.

"Okay, Miyuki-chi! Tell us what's going on between you and Kairi!" Yaya exclaimed.

"Huh? Is there something going on?" Amu asked. "I figured it was just another silly rumor."

"Nope! Yaya's sure there's something more, because neither of them would say anything until everyone got here! So come on, Miyuki-chi!" Yaya urged. Everyone turned to me to see what I would say.

I looked pleadingly at Kairi, but apparently he didn't want to be the one to say the lie. Which meant the dirty work was left with me. _Thanks a lot, my so-called ally_. "Well, it's just that I had an idea about what we could do about Utau. And since I ran into Kairi when I got into the school this morning, I thought I would run the idea by him."

Yaya seemed disappointed that the news wasn't gossip-worthy. Tadase grew serious at the mention of Utau. "What's your idea?" he asked.

"Well..." I once again looked to Kairi, who yet again refused to pick up the story. "I thought that maybe I could go to the concerts and grab any X-eggs that Utau creates. Then I can bring them back to school so Amu can purify them. And while I'm there, I can watch to see if there's anytime we would be able to take Amu's chara back. My parents won't mind if I'm out at night, and my smoke attack should make it easy to get the eggs."

"That's a good idea, if you're willing to take the responsibility to do all that by yourself, Yamada-san," Tadase said. "But how will you get into concerts? Open air ones like the concert we went to would be easy, but what about tonight? And how will you hold onto the X-eggs until Amu has a chance to purify them?"

"I'm sure I can figure out some way to get into the building. And as far as keeping the X-eggs go, I bet they'd stay quiet if I put some of my smoke in a bag and shut them into it." A pang of guilt swept through me as I realized that the lie was coming along effortlessly. It was like I was so used to lying to the Guardians that I no longer even thought about it.

"Are you sure you want to?" Amu asked, her voice still shaded with doubt. "It could be dangerous, and if part of this is just to get my egg back..." she trailed off.

"Don't worry about it - I'll be fine," I reassured her. "And while your egg is important, so is stopping Utau. You don't want her getting away with all those X-eggs, do you?" I made a mental note to punish myself somehow once I was home. This lie was going _w__ay_ too far. I wasn't simply covering for myself anymore. I was lying more than I needed to. What point was there in me sounding so committed to stop Utau? I could have just told Amu that I'd be fine, which was the truth, and ended my reassurance at that. But _no_, I had to go on and practically shout to the world that I was dead-set on stopping Utau, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Even Tadase seemed to notice my new (but fake) enthusiasm; he looked kind of surprised at my sudden surge of helpfulness.

Amu didn't respond, but she was obviously comforted by my words. I was glad that she seemed less worried, but I hated myself for the lies. But at this point, I guessed a lie or two more probably wouldn't matter - I was already the worst friend anyone could ever have.

* * *

I gave Ginger some much-deserved attention that night as I waited to be picked up for the concert. Ginger had been a great help to me these past couple of nights, and I suspected that the Darkness would be giving me a lot more trouble if I didn't have her around. She had helped me to get a hold of myself last night, for example. And it seemed like I was a lot less likely to be seriously bothered by the Darkness whenever I was petting something soft and cuddly. But I'd been so preoccupied in my own troubles this week that I'd barely done anything more for her than feed her and clean her litter box. Azami, though still acting jealous of the attention I gave Ginger, was tolerating the cat.

When it was about half past six, I went to my closet to pick out an outfit for the concert. I immediately ruled out the few brightly-colored outfits I had - I was definitely not in the mood to wear those. Instead, I ended up in a mostly black short-skirt and tight-fitting tee outfit. Add my black X-egg collecting purse into the mix and I had a very darkly-themed look. It really wasn't the most stylish outfit in the world even by goth standards, but it would do.

A little bit before seven, a black car with heavily tinted back seat windows pulled up in my driveway. _Easter _way _over-emphasizes their whole evilness aspect, _I thought to myself, recalling the multiple other times I'd been carted from place to place in these ominous-looking black cars. I was surprised to see that Yukari was driving the car; I'd figured it would just be some generic Easter henchman sent to pick me up. She motioned me to the seat behind her, and upon opening the door I saw that Utau was sitting on the other side. She glared at me as I got in, but I did my best to ignore her. Then again, when someone like super-idol Hoshina Utau glares at you, I'll admit it's kinda hard to brush it off as nothing. She was probably still angry that I interfered with her fight with Amu.

Iru, on the other hand, held no bad feelings towards Azami. "That was a pretty awesome transformation the other day!" The devil chara said to Azami as I finished buckling up. "Almost as good as Lunatic Charm!"

Azami scowled. "Almost? What do you mean, almost? Dark Dragon was _clearly_ the best transformation at the park. If we'd wanted to, we could have obliterated you with ease."

"Are you joking? We could have wiped the floor with you guys even at half of our power!" Iru boasted.

As the friendly bickering continued and Yukari drove the car towards downtown, I noticed that the Amu's diamond X-chara was hovering near Utau. The chara was staring at me, but she didn't seem annoyed or angry like Utau was. But nor was the gaze happy or sad or any other emotion I could name. Maybe the gaze was devoid of all feeling, and yet that seemed wrong, too. Whatever it was that I saw in the chara's eyes seemed to look right through me, as if she could see every thought and action I had ever done. The feeling made me shiver, and I quickly looked away. As soon as eye contact was broken, the feeling left, though the memory of it remained.

When we got nearer to our destination, Yukari finally spoke up. "Miyuki, here's what you'll be doing tonight." Azami and Iru stopped their friendly insults to listen. "You are going to be providing smoke effects for Utau's opening song. I don't care how you do it, as long as you make it look good and you make sure that you get your X-energy smoke spread throughout the crowd. After the X-eggs from both your smoke and Utau's song have come out, it'll be your job to collect the eggs. Yet again, I don't care how you do it, just make sure that you get all of the eggs and that you aren't seen. Understand?"

I didn't like being ordered around like this, but the thought of my punishment for misbehavior made me hold my tongue. "Yes, Sanjo-san."

Yukari remained staring at the road, but I saw a victorious smirk come to her face at my answer. She could tell that I was still afraid of punishment, and she knew that she wouldn't have to worry about disobedience. It made me feel used, like a trained dog that lived only for Easter's amusement. I hated it. But unless I wanted to face Kazuomi again, there was nothing I could do about it.

Azami was clenching her fists and lashing her tail back and forth, showing that she didn't like this any more than I did. I looked over to Utau and her charas again, my eyes challenging them to just try and gloat at my weakness. But instead, I saw something that looked like a flash of sympathy in Utau's face, though she quickly hid it. Even Iru looked troubled to some extent. Dia simply continued to stare at me, her gaze impassive.

We arrived at the concert hall soon, and I was left backstage as stage crew around me set up for the concert. I basically just settled myself behind some large crates that were backstage, so that I was out of the way of all the hustle and bustle. As I waited, my mind drifted back to the rumor that had started earlier today.

_So me and Kairi as a couple, huh? Well, I guess it's not that preposterous, considering the circumstances. I mean, we both work for Easter, and we both have charas. And, to be honest, he's not half-bad as far as looks go. _

"What are you thinking about?" Azami asked, breaking my train of thought.

I shrugged. "Well, it just seems to me like that rumor about Kairi and me might not be all that ridiculous. We're both on the same side, after all."

Azami looked at me incredulously. "I've told you before - a dragon doesn't need anyone. You'd be better off just forgetting stupid stuff like this. But even if you _do _insist on it, at least find someone better that Kairi. He's a fourth grade geek who can't keep his nose out of procedure and business."

"Well, what about Musashi?" I asked as I smiled at Azami's bluntness. "That's who Kairi wants to be. So what's he like?"

"He hardly says anything, and he doesn't seem much better than Kairi," Azami replied. "He's just as focused on responsibility as Kairi. Put the two of them together, and it's almost worse than Kiseki in exactly the opposite way."

I laughed a little bit, in a surprisingly good mood for once. For Azami to compare them to Kiseki meant that she must really not like them. "I guess you're right," I said, still laughing. "It was just a thought. Speaking of them, are they here?"

Azami shook her head. "I haven't seen them around."

Just then, Utau passed by my hiding place. There was still about ten minutes before the start of the concert, and it looked like she and her band were done tuning and preparing. Since she didn't appear to be doing anything important, I decided to take this opportunity to talk to her, and try and get her to stop being so angry with me. The truth was, I really admired her for both her abilities and her strength, and I didn't particularly want her as an enemy.

"Hey, Utau! Mind if I talk to you for a minute?" I asked before she'd walked too far away.

She turned around and glared at me. "Oh, it's you. Sanjo-san was looking for you earlier. And don't talk to me like we're friends." Utau began to walk away, but I walked in front of her to stop her.

I was about to apologize for fighting with her the other day and for talking to her informally, but apparently Azami had other plans. Chara-change plans. Rather than saying sorry, I found myself talking back.

"You know, it's rude not to listen to what others want to say, _Hoshina-san_," I said, mockingly emphasizing the formal use of her name. "You shouldn't irritate a dragon without thinking about the consequences."

Utau clearly noticed my chara-change, but she seemed unintimidated. "If I ever see a real dragon, I'll keep that in mind."

My temper flared, but I decided to keep my cool rather than lose control of myself. "You know, I had been planning on explaining exactly why I helped Amu out when you fought her a couple days ago. But now, I see that someone as high and mighty as yourself doesn't need to listen to a dragon's sound logic."

"Oh? But you seemed so determined to explain yourself to me. Do all dragons give up this easily?" Utau said. She was trying to keep calm, but I could tell she was starting to get annoyed. And she wasn't the only one - both Azami and me were getting angry as well.

Still, this was getting to be a battle of wits, and I couldn't let my anger get the better of me. "No, it's not that at all. But not even a sensible human would waste any breath trying to talk to someone like you."

"Utau! Miyuki! Get in your positions!" Yukari suddenly called from the other side of backstage.

My anger faded as my chara-change went away, and I turned back to Utau with a satisfied smile on my face. This argument was fun, in its own way - not quite like an actual physical battle, but it was good competition of who can think the quickest. Now that I wasn't chara-changed, I decided to get straight to the point. "Okay, the truth is, I like to compete, too. Like you and Kukai were saying the other day. I just really wanted to fight that day and, admittedly, trying to protect Amu was a good excuse for a fight. Why don't we have a real fight sometime? That is, unless your afraid of losing." I said this last part with a challenging smirk.

I half expected Utau to still be annoyed with me, but, to my surprise, she dropped her hostility. A small but confident smile crept onto her face. "I'm ready for a fight anytime, just so long as you're not a sore loser. Because there isn't even a small possibility that a kid like you would be able to beat me." And with that, she walked over to the stage where she took her position for the beginning of the show. I thought about going over and arguing, but decided it would be best to let her have the last word - for now.

I quickly made my own way over to the side of the stage. From there, I could look out at the stage and a little bit of the audience, but I would be so shrouded in shadows that no one would notice me. At the moment, the curtains were drawn and the stage was almost completely dark. I craned my neck to look back stage again, and I saw that Yukari was motioning for me to get on with my job.

"Well, it looks like we get to be the ones to start the concert," I whispered to Azami. I wasn't feeling any guilt now about misleading the Guardians - thanks to my little battle of words with Utau, I was in too good of a mood to be anything but excited. After making sure that I was definitely out of sight of both the stage crew and the crowd, I transformed with Azami.

"Hopeless Haze," I muttered. A dark tongue of flame appeared in my hand, noticeably bigger than it had been in the past thanks to the massive amount of X-energy I now had surging through me. I made the smoke move its way onto the stage, making it heavy so that it would roll along the floor like fog. When the smoke had covered the stage so much that you could barely see below anyone's knees, the curtains were pulled back and the first chords of the organ played - the intro to _Meikyuu Butterfly_. I made more smoke and gradually let it begin to drift off into the audience. A couple of dim blue lights were now on, creating an eerie effect as it made the smoke seem to glow.

Then a spotlight flashed on right as Utau began to sing. And before even the first line of music was done, I was having trouble keeping back the flood of Darkness. It was just like the time I'd gone to the Utau concert with Mai, only this felt a hundred times stronger. As Utau made it to the first refrain, I could tell that I wouldn't be able to hold back the power any longer.

So, rather than hold back the haze, I let it go, doing my best to maneuver it the way I wanted it. Smoke positively poured from the fire in my hand, nearly too much to control. My first priority was to keep the smoke from enveloping the stage; if that happened, then the fans wouldn't be able to see, and it probably wouldn't make it any easier for Utau or the musicians to do their job. So I directed the smoke to spread itself throughout the audience part of the concert hall. Since it was a massive room, this worked well enough, and I soon stopped worrying about it getting out of control.

And as soon as I stopped worrying about it, an almost insane grin came to my face as I felt the power of both the Darkness and the music working me up into a sense of ultimate power. There had to be at _least _two thousand people in the sold out crowd, and now they were all under my control. They seemed no less enthusiastic, but I knew that with every breath they took, my haze would affect them. As long as the music kept playing, most of them would stay basically normal. But there would be those whose dreams were vulnerable, and it was over them that I had my greatest power.

When Utau reached the last refrain of the song, her bat-like wings appeared and a new wave of strength surged through me. All of Utau's determination felt like it was racing through me, powering the Darkness. And as I turned back to the crowd, my mouth dropped open in surprise. In a crowd this large, I would have guessed that my haze - at least, before my latest boost - would have been able to draw out maybe ten or fifteen eggs, since I normally wouldn't even be able to cover half of the crowd with smoke. And if the last Utau concert I went to was anything to go by, Utau would have been able to get about the same amount. Combined, that should have resulted with thirty eggs at most, and that was assuming there wasn't any overlap between our targets.

That was why I couldn't believe my eyes - there had to be at least _fif__ty_ X-eggs floating above the crowd.

The only reason for this that I could think of was that maybe Utau's singing had powered up my attack, or maybe my smoke had powered up her singing, or maybe a combination of the two. But whatever had happened, I considered it a miracle of epic proportions. Just the knowledge that I had the power to do this was invigorating, even if I had been helped out by Utau. I quickly ducked back stage, then flew upwards, not caring if any of the stage crew saw me.

I landed on a walkway above the lights, which looked like it was usually used for maintenance. The lights around me were turning and flashing in time to Utau's next song, probably being controlled by a computer somewhere. From my vantage point, I could easily see the cloud of X-eggs that had gathered near the ceiling. Using a bit more smoke, I called out to them, coaxing them towards me. They came willingly, surrounding me until I was in the center of the cloud.

I thought about bringing my haul backstage to Yukari, but decided against it. For one, there was nothing we'd be able to do with such a large amount of X-eggs. More importantly, I didn't want to come down. I could quite literally think of nothing that could make this moment in time any better - I mean, I was in dragon form, surrounded by X-eggs that I had created, and looking down at an entire crowd of people who were powerless before my might. Not to mention, below me music was playing that was both strong and inspiring. With the Darkness in me, I had plenty of energy to keep up my character transformation - I saw no reason to come down.

And so, I stayed among the lights for the remainder of the concert. And the feeling of power that remained throughout the entire concert felt like nothing else. Perhaps it couldn't replace friendship or other so-called 'good' feelings, but nor could friendship ever compare with such a sense of empowerment. When the last song ended, I flew down to one corner of the back stage and changed back to normal, regretting that the concert ever had to end. I prepared to chara-change immediately in order to keep the X-eggs in line, but it turned out that that wasn't necessary - the eggs continued to stay close to me, even without a change or transformation.

I stayed in my corner for a while, watching the stage crew and band as they cleaned up and put everything away. Once I saw that Yukari and Utau were looking around for me, apparently ready to go, I got out of my corner and walked towards them. When I approached them, I could see that Utau was shocked at the number of X-eggs I had floating above my head. Of course, she, Yukari, and me we were the only ones who could see the swarm - all the rest of the stage crew were oblivious to eggs floating just above their heads.

Yukari smiled coldly, pleased with the results. "Nice job, girls," She said to Utau and me as soon as I was within hearing range. "I'm sure Kazuomi will be more than satisfied with your work." I grinned, though I couldn't have cared less whether Kazuomi was pleased or not. I was simply proud of my work.

We managed to stuff all of the X-eggs in the trunk of the black car, and then we drove to Easter just a few blocks away. Yukari's card key had access to the entire building, so we were able to drop off the eggs in a storage room near the labs. I didn't bother asking what they'd be used for - probably either new experiments for bringing out the Embryo, or else more energy for me. I kept seven for myself to bring back to the Guardians on Monday, so that they would think that I'd done my job. As soon as the rest of the eggs were securely locked up, we went back to the car. I was somewhat disappointed when Yukari dropped me off first - I had really been wanting to see where an idol like Utau lived. Then again, that didn't matter. Tonight had been great, and a small disappointment like that wasn't going to get me down.

However, there was one thing that nagged at the back of my mind, and I mentioned it to Yukari before I got out of the car. "Sanjo-san, if we're able to create that many X-eggs at every concert, there's no way we'll be able to keep it a secret from the Guardians for long. Anyone with a chara for ten miles around probably could have felt that many X-eggs being created at once."

"I'd thought about that, but I've decided that it doesn't matter," Yukari replied. "With that much power at our disposal, the Guardians will no longer be a threat, even if they realize what we're doing. We'll continue doing this at every concert Utau has in this area. Speaking of which, the next time you'll be needed will be two Thursdays from now - there's going to be a smaller concert on the other side of town. I'll have Kairi fill you in on the details on Monday." She said nothing more, so I got out of the car and she drove off into the night. I watched the car until it was out of sight, then went inside to get a much-needed night's rest.

* * *

I'll once again apologize for not getting out these chapters sooner... I mean, it's Summer, and yet it's nearly been two weeks since the last chapter... I must either be getting busier or lazier as the Summer progresses... (probably a mix of both, to be honest) Still, you got a long chapter in thanks for your wait~ (well, it would have been long anyway... the wait was just made longer because the chapter was long...)

Note concerning the story: Up until now, there's never been much more than a week's gap of time between chapters in-story wise (not update wise). That will probably change soon, perhaps with the next chapter. Of course, I almost always mention in-story how long it's been since the last chapter, so you'll know once it happens. This is just a forewarning.

Extra-special thanks for everyone who has been reviewing! I actually got nine reviews on the last chapter~! (Which is an accomplishment for me)

I'm seriously going to try and get more chapters out more quickly, but I can't make any guarantees. (especially considering that it's nearly 4-H fair time... dang...)


	8. The Cat Returns

"Did Kusukusu mention anything out of the usual today about Rima, Azami?" I asked as I stroked Ginger, yet again passing time between the end of school and pick-up for an Utau concert. Almost two weeks had passed since the last concert and, surprisingly, the Darkness wasn't bothering me as much. In fact, since the latest boost, I was on my longest clean-streak yet - almost four whole days without a major problem. So now, with my mind less worried about the Darkness, I could focus on other things. Like Rima's abrupt change in behavior.

"You noticed it too, huh?" Azami replied. "Then again, I guess you would have been stupid to miss it. After nearly three weeks of treating everyone around her like dirt, Rima has suddenly had a change of heart." Azami fluttered her wings and folded her hands, trying to make herself look like an angel. Though there is very little a dragon can do to make herself look even remotely angel-like, and Azami was no exception.

I rolled my eyes. "A change of heart? Hardly. She still treats everyone like dirt. Just not Amu." It was so weird - yesterday, Rima had been as much of a brat as normal. Today, she was still a brat, but now she was following Amu around nearly the entire school day.

"But why would Rima open up to Amu, of all people? I thought Rima was practically Amu's arch-nemesis in that class," Azami said.

"Why _not_ Amu?" I asked rhetorically, for once surprised that I could see a connection that Azami couldn't. Then again, I guess friendship isn't a strong point in dragons. "Amu's kind, caring, considerate..." Azami gagged. I ignored her and continued, "Not to mention, she can cleanse X-eggs. If she can even make X-eggs be nice, why not other people?"

"Well, thank you for the lesson, miss expert-on-morals," Azami said sarcastically. "Next, do you think we could have a lesson over what friends _shouldn't_ do? I think I could give a few very relevant examples."

"How about the annoying student just shuts up for a bit?" I said, scowling jokingly as I blew a handful of loose cat hairs towards my chara. Azami dodged the shed hairs, then slapped me with her tail.

Normally, if it was just me thinking about it, this would be a touchy subject. But when Azami joked about it like this, betraying my friends no longer seemed that bad. And I suppose it made sense that Azami made it seem like that; to her, it truly wasn't a big deal. My good mood was from more than just that, though; I was looking forward to going to the concert tonight. Knowing that I'd have that power again put me in an all-around great mindset, and even my constant stream of worries could do little to dampen my enthusiasm.

I went over to my window and opened it all the way, letting a cool breeze in. I was hoping that it might blow out some of the cat hairs that were now circulating around the room. With all of Ginger's good aspects, I suppose that fact that she sheds should be a small price to pay. Still, that thought didn't make me any happier whenever I got a mouthful of floating fur.

"Hey, what time is it?" I asked as I leaned out of the window, enjoying the cool night air.

"About five minutes till eight," Azami said, a hint of laughter in her voice.

Surprised, I hit my head as I jerked it back into the room. "Five till eight! Don't you think you could have told me sooner!" I was supposed to be picked up at eight, and I wasn't even in the outfit I wanted to wear yet.

Azami had started cracking up as soon as I hit my head, and she continued to laugh as I rushed to my closet. "You didn't ask," she said between laughing fits.

Not having time to choose properly, I quickly threw on one of the outfits I'd mentally been debating about. I could feel a small bump rising out of the back of my head, but I tried to ignore it as I changed. Right as I finished getting ready, the sound of a car pulling up to the house came though the still open window. _Probably my ride, _I thought. I hurriedly scanned the room, looking to see if I'd forgotten anything.

As soon as I was certain that I had everything (not that there was much to forget - all I had to bring was my X-egg carrying purse), I said, "All right, Ginger, I've got another concert to go to - you stay here." Ginger meowed in response, probably wanting me to pet her more. I patted her head, but then hurried out of my room, not wanting to make Yukari wait any longer.

As I walked out the front door to the waiting car, Azami murmered, "You've _got _to stop talking to that cat like it's a person. I'm starting to seriously question your sanity."

Right before I opened the car door, I whispered back, "Well, if I'm insane, and if you're born from me and what I want, wouldn't that make you a product of my insanity?" Before my chara could protest, I opened the door and got in the car, abruptly cutting off the conversation.

* * *

The concert went well, and was almost as big of a success as last time. Granted, we weren't able to get quite as many eggs as that first time, but there was also the smaller crowd to account for. But no matter the number of eggs, I still got the same thrill as last time. I loved it. And when I took into account that the amount of Darkness wasn't being quite as uncontrollable as I had thought a few weeks ago, Easter wasn't looking quite so bad after all.

Yukari drove me home again, and Utau was in the back seat with me. None of us really talked during the drive, but it wasn't an awkward silence. We all seemed to be lost in our own thoughts. I, for one, was still revelling in the feeling of power from the concert, and so I didn't pay much attention to anyone for most of the trip.

"So when's the next concert?" I asked when we were a couple blocks away from my house.

"If everything goes according to plan, there won't be another concert," Yukari said. "At least, no more concerts that we'd need you at."

I tried to conceal my disappointment. _No more concerts? But I actually enjoy the concerts, _I thought sadly. I looked over to Utau, but she was offering no explanation for this sudden change of plans. "Isn't Easter satisfied with over forty eggs a concert?"

"It isn't Easter's idea. It simply seems to me that the Guardians could be a nuisance if they ever notice our current plan, and so we're changing tactics," Yukari said. It sounded like there was more that she wasn't telling - for example, she wasn't expounding on what tactic could be so good that she would abandon our current strategy. "Don't worry, Miyuki - we'll still have need of you. You'll get a call as soon as we're ready to start the new plan."

I wanted to question her more on the matter, but we had already pulled up to my house. Even if I had more time to ask, I doubted she would tell me any more. So I got out of the car and headed back into the house to get some sleep. But as soon as I stepped through the front door, something felt... different. Like something should be there, but wasn't, or perhaps that something shouldn't be there, but was. I looked around, but as far as I could remember, everything was in its proper place. My mom and dad were already in bed, but that was no surprise. So what was it?

"Something wrong?" Azami asked, seeing my bewildered look.

I shrugged. "It's nothing." I had no reason to tell Azami about the feeling. Besides, if it was anything serious, she would have noticed something. I took off my shoes and went upstairs, but my confusion only grew as I climbed the stairs, because the higher I got, the more I would have sworn that I heard voices. My parents were never up this late, and even if they were, their bedroom was on the ground floor. There really wouldn't be much of a reason for them to be on the second floor even during the day, and definitely not at this time of night.

Once I was at the top of the stairs, I stopped. I could definitely hear someone talking, and the voice sounded like it was coming from my room. It was high and sort of nasally, and though I couldn't hear well enough to really distinguish whose voice it was, it definitely sounded familiar.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Azami, who had better hearing than me.

Azami grinned. "Of course I do."

"And? Who is it?"

"Why don't you go in and see for yourself?" Azami asked, the look on her face telling me that she knew who it was.

I fake-glared at her, and said with all the seriousness I could muster, "As far as I know, there could be some sort of murderer in there, and you're just leading me to my death."

"Do you really think I would do that?" Azami asked, raising an eyebrow.

I smiled jokingly. "I wouldn't put anything past you. If I die, I blame you." Deciding that Azami probably knew who was down there - which meant that I probably knew the person, too - I walked down the hallway and to my room, not bothering to quiet my footsteps to sneak up on the intruder. As I reached the door, the voice stopped, and a meow from Ginger could be heard from within my room. Her meow didn't sound angry or distressed in any way, and so even if Azami might let me walk into a bad situation, I now doubted there was any danger. I smiled to myself and thought jokingly, _Of course, Ginger is probably the mastermind of all of this. Whatever 'this' is. _

When I opened my door, I was immediately greeted by was a blast of cold air. That confused me, and turned on the light so I could see what - or who - was responsible for it. I quickly found the answer; I'd forgotten to shut my window before I left for the concert, and the cold air had gotten in through there.

The next thing I noticed was Yoru, who had floated up to my face as soon as I had turned on the light. He had his paws clenched, and his tail was sticking up almost straight in irritation. "You need to teach this cat some manners, nya~!" he shouted at me. I looked past him to see Ginger walking up to me from the other side of the room, looking completely innocent. I realized what had felt wrong at the door; normally, Ginger always greets me as soon as I get home, no matter what time of day it was.

I picked Ginger up when she started to rub against my legs, and she purred as I held her in my arms. I turned back to Yoru and, with an amused grin, I said, "Surely you can't be serious, Yoru? Just look at Ginger's little furry face - she wouldn't hurt a fly." Ginger, as if on cue, started purring like a motorboat and acting as cute as possible. She'd grown a little bit in the weeks since Christmas, but she was still a fairly small, slim cat, and she could easily pull off the cute-and-innocent kitten look.

Yoru got even angrier, and Azami flew over to his side. "He has a point, Miyuki," the dragon chara said. "That cat can be rather annoying. A little discipline might not hurt. I vote on locking it in the closet for a few days, and seeing how it acts after that."

I ignored Azami, since I was used to her suggesting such things. "So Yoru, how was Ginger being rude?" I asked, curious. I also really wanted to know if Ginger was any different from the average cat, and so I was hoping that Yoru might be able to shed some light on the matter.

"She wouldn't answer me the other day when I tried to ask her where she lived, nya~!" Yoru said. "And when I asked her what her name was, she hit me in the face with her tail and left! When I finally saw her here tonight, she called me a nosy furball, nya~!"

I couldn't help it; I snorted as I suddenly started laughing. Azami was laughing, too, and Yoru looked angrier. I quickly got a hold of myself, though, and asked, "Do you go around talking to cats often?" Trying to placate him, I added, "That's quite a talent."

My compliment had just the effect I was hoping on. Yoru didn't calm down completely, but his aggressiveness certainly lowered significantly. He smiled and said nonchalantly, "Yeah, it's no big deal, nya~. Not to brag or anything, but I could get all the cats in the area to do what I wanted, if I asked, nya~."

"So why won't Ginger listen to you?" I asked.

Yoru bristled again, but this time kept his cool. "I dunno, nya~ Maybe you're spoiling her too much; I normally get along best with strays, nya~."

Well, this wasn't answering many of my questions. Admittedly, Ginger would have to be kind of intelligent in order to insult Yoru, but the way Yoru said it, any cat could do it. There was the issue of her being the only one that doesn't listen to him - which seemed to only confirm my suspicions of her being unique - but there was still a lot I wanted to know. I'd have to ask Yoru more directly, rather than beat around the bush like this.

"Yoru, can cats understand what people say?" I asked as I let Ginger down. The tortoiseshell cat, not wanting to be forgotten, immediately started rubbing against my legs.

Yoru shook his head. "Nah. It's too much work to try and understand you humans, nya~."

That was a bit of a disappointment. Still, I couldn't rid myself of the feeling that she really _could_ understand people, no matter what Yoru said. "Well, I have this feeling that Ginger really can understand what I say, even if she won't do something to make it obvious. Do you think you could ask her for me?"

"What am I, a translator, nya~?" Yoru asked. "What do I get for doing it, nya~?"

I thought for a moment, then remembered, "I got you some catnip for Christmas a while back, but I've never had the chance to give it to you. But since you won't do this one little favor for me, I think I'll just give it to Ginger."

Yoru got a dreamy look on his face. "Catnip, nya~!?! Translator it is, nya~!" He floated down to Ginger, who continued to rub against my legs without paying any attention to the cat chara. Still talking as he normally did, he said to the cat, "Hey! I'm talking to you, nya~!" Ginger still ignored him. "Can you understand what people say, nya~?"

Ginger stopped where she was, turned to him, gave a matter-of-fact sounding meow, then went back to rubbing my legs.

"I'm not gonna take talk like that from some mangy house-cat, nya~!" Yoru suddenly shouted, all his annoyance from before now coming back full-force.

"What'd it say?" Azami asked.

"She called me a tiny mouse-brained fly, and told me to buzz off!" Yoru said angrily. As Azami and I both began to laugh, he charged at Ginger. Ginger dodged behind my legs, and Yoru had to stop his attack. He tried to go around, but Ginger made sure that my legs were always between her and the angry chara. They started going in circles around my legs, and both Azami and I kept laughing.

Eventually, Yoru broke off his unsuccessful chase. "Just give me the catnip so I can leave, nya~," he said to me.

I grinned. "Not quite yet, Yoru. I've got a couple of questions for you."

"That wasn't part of the deal, nya~!" He said.

"Too bad," I said. "It's either that, or no catnip for you." Knowing that Yoru wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of catnip, I started right in to the first question that had occurred to me. "You said earlier that when you first saw Ginger, she wouldn't tell you where she lived. Does that mean she wasn't here?"

"Are you trying to play detective or something, nya~?" Yoru asked, frustrated that I was withholding his catnip. When I didn't say anything, he relented and answered, "Yeah, she was several blocks away from here, nya~. Sorta near your school."

"And how did you find her tonight?"

"She was a few blocks down, and a saw her and followed her here, nya~. Can I have my catnip yet, nya?!" Yoru said, obviously a bit peeved.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not that bad, is it? I'm just asking you questions, you big baby. Anyway, why were you in this neighborhood, anyway? Is Ikuto around here?"

Yoru turned his back to me. "I go where I please - I don't need to babysit Ikuto all the time, nya~. I came around here 'cause I felt like it, nya~"

He seemed to be telling the truth, so I decided that he deserved his reward, "All right, you can have your catnip. Let me get it." I rummaged through one of my clothing drawers and came out with a catnip-stuffed fish-shaped toy. "Here you go," I said as I tossed it to him.

"Catnip!!" he said happily, catching it. It was kind of comical to see him so blissful, holding a cat toy that was taller than himself. "Thanks! I'll see you later, nya~!"

"Watch out for more cats with attitude!" Azami taunted as Yoru flew out the window. Yoru, not letting her have the last word, turned around and stuck out his tongue before flying off into the night.

I was tired now, but too much stuff was on my mind for me to fall asleep quite yet. The conversation with Yoru had been interesting, though that wasn't what I was thinking about. I was still wondering about what Yukari had said before she dropped me off. Why would she stop the concerts? I highly doubt she's really worried about the Guardians - not counting Kukai, Amu and Rima are the only ones who can chara-nari, and Utau and I could easily take them on. She must have a better method of getting X-eggs, or perhaps a way to get the Embryo itself.

I shook my head. "I'll take care of the X-eggs first. Then I'll go to bed." I'd had some trouble with the X-eggs from the last concert. Since I couldn't very well bring my X-energy containing purse to school without attracting unwanted questions from the Guardians, I'd simply zipped them into a pocket of my book bag and filled the pocket with some smoke from my chara-change. I was late to school (sleepy from the night before), and so I wasn't able to get them to Amu before class. My smoke-in-the-bag method had worked at first, but as the day went on, either the smoke or its effectiveness faded. Barely thirty minutes into class, the eggs in my bag had started moving around, and I had to ask to go to the bathroom so I could do something.

Since no one was in the restroom then, I'd decided to experiment. It was something I'd kind of been wanting to try for a while, though I didn't really expect it to work. Basically, I chara-changed and then ran some water over my pointed fingernails. My thought was that maybe some of the poison (or whatever it was) from my nails would leech into the water. And, when I sprinkled some of the water droplets from my fingers into my bag, it had worked. The X-eggs quieted down, and to my surprise, they stayed that way for the rest of the day. I told the Guardians about it when Amu purified the X-eggs after school, though none of them had cared as much about the discovery.

I decided to expand a little bit more on that idea tonight. First, I went to my bathroom and filled a small paper cup with water. It wasn't a lot, admittedly, but if this worked, it would be way more than the few drops I improvised with at school that day. I chara-changed, then dipped my fingernails into the water. Up until now, I hadn't been sure whether my chara-changed nails actually had some sort of venom that they secreted, or if it was just something in the nail itself that contained X-energy. Now I finally knew. As I twirled the tips of my nails in the water, a sort of dark, heavy liquid swirled after them. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to turn the wat er very faintly darker.

I sprinkled some of my concoction into a small pocket of my bag, and then dumped the night's X-eggs into the it. Azami and I waited in silence for a few minutes, but the X-eggs didn't seem to be struggling. My little experiment had worked. Azami and I grinned at each other.

"Do you know what we could do with this?" Azami asked, grinning wickedly. "We could practically poison people with X-energy. Imagine what we could do if we managed to somehow get the water fountains at school infected with this stuff - the whole school would practically be ours for the taking."

"Tempting, but no," I said. "Do you know how boring school would be if everyone went around like a dreamless zombie all day? Plus, I still don't particularly want to do anything to the Guardians or Mai."

Azami flapped her wings angrily, but didn't argue. Finally feeling the exhaustion setting in, I changed into my night clothes and started getting ready for bed. However, even as I layed in my bed in the darkness of my room, I realized there was one more thing that was bothering me.

"Hey, Azami?" I asked.

"I'm trying to go to sleep. What is it?" the dragon chara replied irritably.

"I hadn't really thought about it much until just now," I said, trying to find the right words. "But it seems like everyone around us is looking for something they can't get."

"What do you mean?" asked Azami.

I shifted under my covers, then said, "Well, both Easter and the Guardians are looking for the Embryo, right? But as far as I can tell, no one has even seen the thing. Does it even exist?"

Azami thought about it a moment, and then her voice came out of the darkness. "No, I don't really think it exists. Just sounds like a lot of wishful thinking. A magical egg that grants wishes? I've never heard of a stupider idea."

I sighed. I had kind of been hoping that it did exist, so that I could just wish myself into a dragon. That way, I wouldn't have all this stupid hesitancy about friend and such, and I would finally be able to become one of those marvelous beasts of legend. "Supposing it does exist," I said, "don't you think it's odd how Easter is going about finding it? In essence, it's almost like they're trying to find it by crushing children's dreams and hoping that one of them might have it. Breaking wishes to find something that grants them."

"I don't follow their logic on that, either," Azami said. "And why would an egg that grants wishes be inside a kid, anyway? No one has the power to do that. All humans can do is hope for themselves, not for others."

I didn't fully agree with that, but there was one more thing I wanted to say. "So if the Embryo really doesn't exist, what's the point of us working for Easter? I mean, we can't ever find something that isn't here."

"Does it matter if we can't do what Easter wants?" Azami asked. "You're working for them because you like to, not because you really want to help them. Take the concerts, for example. You're not going to them because you want to help Easter find the Embryo; you go to them because you like the feeling. As long as you want to do it, there's a point."

I smiled. Azami logic was simple, but it made sense. "Good night," I said into the darkness. Azami mumbled something back, but I didn't hear her - I was already asleep.

* * *

*the title of this chapter is a reference to one of Studio Ghibli's movies. If you got the reference, you're awesome~! (though you're probably still awesome even if you didn't get the reference)*

I'm just going to quit saying that I'll try to get these out soon, because frankly, no one is going to believe me when I promise anything if I keep that up. It's just been a really busy week or so, and I've had next to no time to work on this. And what time I did have, I wasted. If it wasn't already apparent, here's what's really sort of happened. Since the beginning of Book 2, I've been in a bit of an unenthusiastic slump concerning this story. This has more to do with how long I've been working on this story than Book 2 itself, since I actually like book 2 quite a bit more than book 1.

However, despite this, I think that I have finally managed to get myself motivated enough to start working on this more constantly. This might have something to do with the fact that school is fast approaching and I am more and more often finding myself thinking "The whole summer is practically gone, and I've gotten next to nothing done with this!!! Now school is coming, and I've wasted all my time up until now watching unrelated anime and playing pokemon!!! GRRRR!!!" So while I'm not going to make any promises now, I don't think you'll have any more unnecessarily long gaps between chapters.

...in other news, I have a new poll up that I'd like everyone to take a look at! It's something I've been concerned about for a while - my descriptions of feelings. I list some examples in the poll question, but just in case you need some further reference to reflect on the matter, here are some of the chapters -

In chapter 12 of book 1, the feelings of pain and exhilaration when Miyuki is first getting her power; fear of Nikaido, chapter 13; The metaphors for the first Darkness problem in chapter 16; a wide array of extreme anger and jealousy in chapter 24; the pain, anger, and fear of chapter 3 of book 2; and, finally, the feeling of Utau's song in chapter 7 of book 1.

- those are the main ones I think of, so if you really need to see what I'm talking about with the poll, those are the best places to look. Basically, I've been worried for a long time that I carry on too much about all of Miyuki's dark feelings, and that sometimes I get carried away. This story is sort of my place to describe many of my own feelings, and as such I think that I may tend to overemphasize them. But I want to know what you people think, and therefore I made the poll.

Thanks for putting up with me and my laziness and business. And if there's one thing concerning that that I know, it's this: there are two kinds of authors I hate (and note that this is more concerning my own personal interests in fanfics, no offense intended to anyone). One: those who go on and on about couples without any real good plot. I have no worries about my fanfic ever becoming this. Two: those who stop writing halfway through a fanfic. And as long as I have anything to say about it, that will NEVER happen. Because even if I end up hating this fanfic with every fiber of my being, I refuse to give up on something I set my mind to. I will literally force myself to write this, if need be. (also note that I am far away from this point, because despite the fact that I am easily distracted, I still really enjoy the fanfic itself)


	9. Time for a Talk

As the next couple of weeks went by, I slowly started feeling more separated from the Guardians. It really wasn't anyone's fault in particular; it just sort of happened. I think what started it was no longer being in the same class with any of the Guardians. So even when we were at lunch or in the Royal Garden, I always felt out of the loop, since Tadase, Rima, and Amu would often end up talking about their class. Another problem was the Darkness. While it wasn't too bad - I could normally get away with only two or three major overwhelming instances a week - it still made me feel distant and distracted most of the time.

My other problem was that I really didn't get along well with the Guardians, now that Kukai and Nadeshiko were gone. Tadase was okay, but almost too nice for someone like me to really be good friends with. Yaya was fun, but annoying and way too hyper. Of course, I'd always got along well with Amu, but Rima had sort of come between us. I mean, Rima and I hated each other's guts, and everyone knew it. We tolerated each other when we were in the same room, but that was about as friendly as we got. Now, with Rima clinging to Amu like a suction cup, it was very hard for me to hang out with Amu. Amu was still one of my best friends, and I knew that she still liked me; but having fun with her now was like trying to laugh while a stinking, rotting, flesh-eating zombie is glaring at you all the time. Not the most enjoyable of experiences, to be sure.

And as for Kairi... well, despite all his rules and regulations, he somehow seemed to be warming up to the Guardians. The change in him was very subtle, but I noticed. Even though it would have made sense for me and him to be friends with each other, that never really happened. If anything, he seemed more interested in Amu than he was in me (more often than not, he'd end up staring at her during Guardian meetings; it wasn't all that obvious, but I paid enough attention to Kairi to notice). Even when I did go out of my way to talk to him by himself - I really wanted to know what Yukari was planning, which gave me a reasonable topic for conversation - he was businesslike as always. And by keeping a close eye on him, I started getting the suspicion that perhaps he, like me, was starting to like the Guardians a little more than an Easter worker should. I felt a bit stalker-ish about watching him so closely, but despite all my observation, I still knew next to nothing about my fellow spy.

_-BEEEP-_

The end-of-the day bell (which was really just a beep over the intercom) rang, and most of the kids in the class hurried out of the room. Everyone was ready for the weekend. I hurried to leave, too, but my rush was for another reason. Three weeks had already passed, and I still hadn't received any word from Yukari about what my new assignment was supposed to be. And, to be honest, I was getting bored. I missed the concerts, and I wanted to find out if my next mission would be as fun as those. Since there wasn't a Guardians meeting today, I was going to ask Kairi if he'd heard anything new about it from his sister. He'd denied knowing anything about it the last time I asked, but I'd had the feeling even then that he knew more than he was telling.

But as I got out of my desk, Mai walked up. "Miyuki, would you like to come over to my house for a while?" she asked. She'd been a great friend these past weeks. Since I wasn't as friendly with the Guardians these days, I was left with only Mai to really talk to. I think she'd noticed that I was definitely becoming more distant (though she never mentioned it directly), and so she was always going out of her way to keep me company. The best part was, she trusted me enough not to ask what was going on. Azami didn't approve of me tightening my friendship, but I appreciated Mai's support too much to care what Azami thought on the matter.

Still, today wasn't the time for going over to someone's house. "Sorry, but I've got to catch Kairi before he leaves. Guardian business. It might take a while, and I don't want you to have to wait for me. How about sometime next week?"

"Yes, that should work," Mai said, not seeming too disappointed. "I don't want to hold you up if you need to find Kairi, then. Have a good weekend!"

"Yeah, you too!" I said as she walked out the door. I finished packing up my books and stuff, then hurried out of the classroom, hoping that Kairi wasn't gone yet. To my relief, I was caught up to him right as he was exiting the front entrance.

"Oh, Deuce," Kairi said as I walked up to him. "Do you need something?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

Noticing the stares we were attracting, I said, "I'll tell you in a minute. Let's go somewhere more private. The other Guardians might get suspicious if they hear about us meeting together again."

Kairi, practical as always, seemed to agree. Still, I couldn't help but notice the flicker of some emotion cross his face at the mention of the Guardians hearing about us. I guessed it was worry. But it lasted only a moment, and he was soon back to his regular self. "Where do you suggest we talk?"

I thought for a moment. "How about the gazebo on the school grounds?"

"That should work," Kairi agreed.

"All right. I'll go first, you come in a few minutes. The rumors would be even worse if we were seen walking off into the school grounds together," I said, then walked off. I took a bit of a round-about way to get there, so that it wouldn't be obvious to anyone where I was going. When I got there, I was relieved to see that no one was around; as I had expected, most everyone was anxious to get home after a long week of school. There was a bench in the gazebo, but waiting quietly on a bench seemed a bit demure for my tastes, even if no one was around. So I perced myself on the railing that encircled the gazebo instead, and propped my feet up on the seat of the bench.

Kairi arrived a couple minutes later, and he opted to remain standing. That made for a much less casual feeling, so rather than ease into the conversation as I might have done, I went ahead and got straight to the point.

"What's Yukari up to? I've been waiting in the dark for three weeks now, and I want to know what's up," I said.

"And don't tell us that you don't know anything, 'cause we're not going to believe you if you do," Azami piped up.

Kairi looked from Azami to me, then sighed. "Technically, I'm not supposed to know. But Yukari sometimes -" he hesitated briefly, as if looking for the best way to phrase what he was about to say, then continued, "- says things when she doesn't realize I'm listening."

_I wonder why he hesitated.._. _Was he eavesdropping, but doesn't want to admit it? _Whatever the reason, I let it slide. "And so? What's she been saying?"

"I don't know the details," he said, "But it's something about a plan called Black Diamond. From what I gather, Hoshina Utau has made a song with Hinamori-san's chara, and it's being copied into CD's that are somehow able to extract X-eggs."

I was intrigued, but it didn't seem all that surprising. Easter always seemed to have something new up its sleeve. "So does this have anything to do with me? Or has your sister just forgotten about me?"

"I'm not sure," he answered. "It sounded like she might have us help with the black diamond plan, though it didn't seem like she really needs us for that. She did mention something about a plan concerning you once, but she didn't go into any details about it."

I wasn't sure if I could believe everything he was saying, since I already knew him to be a convincing liar (there would be no way I would expect him to be an Easter spy, if I didn't already know). Still, he seemed to be telling the truth. I looked over to Azami, and she was nodding as if she believed what he was saying. Still, just to make sure, the dragon chara asked, "Is there anything else that you think might be worth mentioning?"

"No. Except that it is my sister's belief that she is closer than ever to obtaining the Embryo." No one said anything for a few long moments, as we let that sink in. I wondered what would happen if Easter ever _did _find the Embryo. It seemed likely that they'd do something evil with it, but then again, people did strange things sometimes. Perhaps Easter was just doing evil things in order to use the Embryo to do some greater good.

But, since neither I nor Azami truly believed the Embryo existed, it wasn't really worth thinking about what Easter could or would do. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and started leaving the gazebo. "Well, thanks for the info. If you could, would you pass on word to your sister that I'd like some sort of update with what's going on?" I continued to walk away from the gazebo, not even bothering to wait for Kairi's reply.

However, I'd barely walked five feet when I heard Kairi coming after me. "Yamada-san, wait," he said, in a way that made him sound almost... embarassed. When I turned around to face him, I noticed that something in his demeanor had changed, too. Rather than addressing me as an ally or coworker, he now seemed a bit more friendly and informal. It was way different from how he normally talked when we were alone.

"What is it?" I asked, sounding neither kind nor unkind.

He paused, as if wondering how to go about saying whatever it was that was on his mind. After a couple of brief seconds, he said, "May I ask you a question?"

I shrugged. "You can ask, but it doesn't mean I'll answer."

He hesitated again, then asked, "Why is it that you work for Easter?"

It surprised me that he was asking this. He always seemed to know everything, and even when he didn't, he was hardly ever nosy. "I might tell you why," I said, "But first you have to tell me why _you_ work for them." It was a question that had been nagging at the back of my mind ever since I noticed that he genuinely seemed to get along well with the Guardians. For him, was this just a job that ran in the family, as the case seemed to be with Utau and Ikuto? Or did he actually volunteer to work for Easter?

"When my sister saw that I had a shugo chara, she asked me to help her with her job," Kairi explained. "Since a samurai always respects his elders and family, I agreed to help." He said this with certainty, and yet when I looked up, I saw doubt in his eyes. It was just as I had guessed; he didn't really want to be working for Easter. So any chance of having him as a friend or ally vanished. Sure, he was working for Easter _now_, but I doubted that would last for long. In a bitter-sweet way, I guessed this was a good thing - without someone my age at Easter, I wouldn't really have any friends, which in turn would bring me closer to being a dragon.

Even so, this was small consolation to me. I'd been glad to have someone else on my side, even if it was someone as boringly official as Kairi. But I doubted there was any stopping it, and so I decided to do something I'd hardly ever done before: give advice.

"Hey, Musashi," I said, suddenly turning away from Kairi. "What is it that's the most important rule of being a samurai?"

"There isn't any rule that's most important. They're all part of a whole, and all are equally necessary," Musashi answered.

_Come on, Musashi, work with me,_ I thought. _I know you don't like what Kairi is doing - no self-respecting samurai would. _"But surely there's one that is above all the others? I mean, something that would help you decide when two of the other rules conflicted."

Musashi crossed his arms and said,"I suppose that a samurai should always do the right thing, and be loyal to those who deserve his loyalty."

I nodded, and turned back to Kairi. "Well, I don't want to be rude, but you really ought to think again-" Suddenly, Azami chara-changed with me; so much for not being rude.

"All right, here's the deal. You're being an idiot," I said straightforwardly. "I could care less whether you're doing the right thing or the wrong thing, and frankly, I don't even know why I'm trying to help someone as stupid as you. But here's your problem: you don't want to help Easter, but you're too afraid of making your own choices to do something about it. So you hide behind some obscure samurai rule so that whenever you do something, you only have to say 'Yukari told me' to be free from responsibility. It's your life, Kairi - live it the way that you want to, not your sister's way. That is, unless you think that she is more deserving of your loyalty than the Guardians."

The chara-change faded, and I noticed that Kairi seemed almost too surprised to talk. Most people aren't quite used to seriously being called an idiot, after all. I took my opportunity to apologize. "Sorry, Kairi - I didn't mean to be quite so blunt about it." I cast a quick glare towards Azami, then turned back to Kairi. "Nonetheless, that's all what I think. Easter will ruin your life if you let them keep on controlling you through your sister. I know from experience."

Kairi seemed to have regained his composure. He pushed up his glasses and said, "If that's the case, why are you working for Easter?"

"Well..." I debated how much to say. On one hand, it would be nice to actually tell someone about my problems. On the other hand, Kazuomi had forbidden me to speak of it, and I really didn't want another punishment session. In the end, I decided it would be wimpy to let anyone but myself know about my problems. "Let me put it this way. I first joined Easter because I wanted to. I wanted power, and they gave it to me. I like collecting X-eggs, though I doubt you would understand that. It worked well for the first couple of months. But now is different. Even when I want to, I can no more disobey Easter than I could go drown myself. As much as I hate to admit it, I no longer have any choice where Easter is concerned."

"What can they do to you that gives them that much control?" Kairi was very good at hiding his emotions, but even he seemed shocked at what I was saying.

I fingered my dragon pendant for courage, since I was starting to get paranoid that Kazuomi would somehow hear that I was talking about the crystal, and punish me. Perhaps Kairi himself would be the one to tell Kazuomi about it. "I can't say that much." In my most threatening voice, I added, "And if you tell Yukari or anyone else from Easter that I was talking about this, I swear that you'll regret it."

Kairi unconsciously took a step back, surprised by the sudden venom in my voice. "I won't tell anyone," he said as our eyes met. Though I doubted he would tell, I glared at him anyway, trying to show that my threat was serious. He kept his eyes steady as he met my glare, but as if on cue, we both looked away after a couple seconds. Neither of us said anything for a while, so I tried to figure out what was going through his mind. Was he taking my advice to heart, and thinking about abandoning Easter? Or was he really committed to obeying his sister? Whenever I looked up at him, I couldn't tell - his face betrayed none of his thoughts.

After a couple of minutes had passed, Kairi was the one to break the silence. "So why are you telling me all this?" he asked. "If I do what you suggest, then your identity would be revealed to the Guardians."

"We don't want someone on our side who would abandon us in the middle of a battle," Azami explained, probably trying to cover up the sappy good-guy explanation she expected me to give. "Utau and Ikuto don't seem to have any problems with what Easter is doing. You, on the other hand, might turn on us if it came down to facing the Guardians. We might as well get the good side and the bad side straight before it comes to a battle."

"To be more honest, I suppose it's because I still have a couple of ounces of decency in my body," I said, completely nullifying Azami's efforts to make me seem tougher. Azami whacked me on the head, and I turned to her. "What? There's no sense lying about it. It's true. I didn't think dragons bothered covering up stuff unless they feel like it. Well, I don't feel like it, so I won't cover it up."

Azami crossed her arms and lashed her tail back and forth. "True, but that doesn't make it any less annoying when you're actually good around other people."

I shrugged, then turned back to Kairi. "As I said, I'm not completely heartless yet. Part of me is really starting to hate all of this lying to the Guardians - at this point, it might be better to simply get it all out in the open. Maybe I would tell them myself, if it weren't for the fact that I'd be in huge trouble with Easter if I did. However, Easter couldn't blame me if you went over to the Guardians' side and told them. Also..." I wanted to say that it felt good to just speak honestly with someone, since I hadn't really been able to do that in months. But that was getting a bit too goody-goody, even considering the mood I was in. "Just forget it. So what are going to do? Keep working for Easter, or not?"

"I need time to think about it," Kairi said, his face still not betraying his thoughts.

I shrugged. "The longer you wait, the more likely that the Guardians will find out by themselves that you're working for Easter. And that always makes everything worse than confessing up front. But hey, it's your decision to make. Unless you have anything else we need to discuss, I'll be leaving now." Kairi said nothing in response, so I took that as my cue to leave.

As soon as we were out of hearing range, Azami was on my case. "That was the most disgustingly nice-sounding I've heard you in a long time. We're trying to stamp out your conscience, not encourage it, remember? Dragons don't have any use for of a conscience; it just gets in the way."

"In this case, being honest might just get me what I want," I argued. "I mean, I really _am _getting fed up with lying to the Guardians all the time, and I'd love to mess with Easter by getting Kairi to switch sides."

"If that was your plan, then you went way farther than you needed to," Azami pointed out. "What was your real reasoning?"

I sighed. _Guess there's no hiding it, _I thought. "Maybe it's just because I'm desperate, but I do actually like Kairi. Perhaps more than just 'like', in fact."

"What are you talking about!?!" Azami exclaimed. "He's a fouth grade sti-"

"Stick-in-the-mud, I know," I finished. "But they say opposites attract, don't they? I can't explain it myself, but there's more to him than just his business-like attitude, and that's the part I like. But don't worry; he's too in love with Amu to even think twice about any other girls. And even if that weren't the case, I know it would never work - judging by what Musashi just said about being a samurai, that means that Kairi's dream is to be an incurable good guy. He's like the knight that always fights for the good, and I'm the dragon he'll be committed to slaying. I'm not going to delude myself hoping for something that's never going to happen." Saying it out loud seemed to confirm it for me. It made me feel disappointed, but it wasn't that bad. Besides, I'd never been stupid enough to try to start even a friendship with him, so the only thing I was losing was the possibility of a friendship with him.

Despite my assurance that I wouldn't attempt any sort of relationship with Kairi, Azami was still angry with me. Probably because she didn't want me to like anyone even on a friendship level, and here I was suddenly admitting to really liking someone like Kairi. Azami didn't argue with me more about it. Instead, she just flew ahead of me a couple feet and refused to talk. I wasn't bothered; we didn't always talk on the walk home from school anyway, and she'd get over her anger eventually.

Still, I realized something was wrong when we got to my house. For one, the Darkness was giving me problems, and Azami either hadn't noticed or didn't care. When I looked over to Azami to figure out if there was a reason for it, I noticed that her tail was drooping, and that rather than flying using her wings, she was floating with them hanging limply at her sides.

My brain worked sluggishly due to the Darkness that was fogging it, and it wasn't until I'd made it to my room that I figured out what was going on. Rather than the Darkness starting with me and spreading to Azami, it was working the other way around. It'd been doing this a lot more lately, though for what reason I didn't know. But even as I realized what was going on, it was too late. I would have to snap Azami out of it in order to stop it, but I was too far gone into depressing thoughts to do anything. _I'm worthless as a dragon, _I thought. _I can't even _act _tough around Kairi, nonetheless actually _be _tough. _Even with Ginger trying to get my attention, there was no use fighting it.

_No matter how much this happens, I'll never get used to it, _was my last thought before completely fading into the Darkness for the next couple of hours.

* * *

You know, I finally got back a good bit of motivation, and then I don't have time. I blame band camp and my parents. And this whole site, which decides to hate me by not letting me log on when I actually do have time to write. As is becoming much too common, I'm sorry that it took over two weeks for this chapter to come out. However, I think I can safely say that enough of my motivation is back to keep me from getting too distracted by time-consuming trivial things. At the very least, I won't be as distracted as I have been for a majority of this Summer.

Thank you to reviewers. I'm going to do a more comprehensive thank you next chapter (hopefully), since I've been meaning to for about the last three or four chapters.

And something completely unrelated, but due to my obsession, I'm going to mention it anyway. The newest movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki (director of the academy award-winning animated movie _Spirited Away_) is coming out English-dubbed in theaters this Friday, August 14th. It's called _Ponyo_ (called _Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea _for the original Japanese version), and it's loosely inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's story _The Little Mermaid. _Admittedly, it's a very simplistic G-rated movie, but I find it to be a beautiful masterpiece nonetheless. And yes, I am more than slightly biased, since I don't think I could even force myself to find a fault in any of Hayao Miyazaki's movies. If you're bored over the weekend, I highly suggest it. (Sorry, I don't want to turn my story into an advertisement, but I _really _love Miyazaki's movies too much not to suggest the movie)


	10. CDs and Perfume?

"Miyuki, are you even listening?"

"What?" I said. Mai repeated her question patiently, and I grinned out of friendly embarrassment. "No, I guess not. Sorry." A couple of days had passed since my talk with Kairi, and I still had no news from Yukari. Right now, I was sitting under the shade of a local playground's slide, talking with Mai. Or, more accurately, we were _trying_ to talk; my mind kept on wandering off to thoughts of what Yukari could possibly be doing, which made focusing on the conversation a bit difficult.

Mai didn't seem to mind my lack of attention, but nor did she let the matter drop. "Isn't it kind of funny that I'm not normally talkative and that you're not a quiet person, and yet lately I'm the one who talks the most when we're together?"

_There's so much I would talk to you about if I could, _I thought. "Yeah, I guess it is kinda weird," I replied, feeling slightly guilty about why I wasn't talking so much. Not to mention, the reason Mai was talking more than usual was only _because _I wasn't being myself. She was just trying to make me feel better, even though she didn't know why I was distracted so much to begin with.

But today, Mai apparently wasn't going to ignore this area of conversation like she normally did. "I know I've said this before, but if something is wrong, you can tell me about it. I wouldn't mind. You could tell me that you're a criminal and I'd still be your friend."

"You know, she's actually really close to the truth," Azami said, since Mai obviously couldn't hear her.

Not particularly wanting to talk abuot this, I decided to try and lighten the mood and divert the subject by saying jokingly, "Well, if that's the case, then maybe you ought to raise your qualifications for 'friend' status." She remained as serious as before, and I sighed; I guessed there was no avoiding this topic today. "I know that you're my friend and all, and that you'd listen to my problems if I'd tell you. And I'd tell you what's going on if I could. But I can't. At least, I can't right now." _I will if your chara's egg ever appears again, _I thought to myself.

"She probably wouldn't be so sure about that whole friendship thing if you did tell her everything, considering all you've done to her," Azami added meanly. I ignored her (turning to glare at thin air would have seemed odd to Mai), but deep down, I worried that Azami might have a point there.

"Are you sure? You just seem so distracted all the time; I thought it might help if you talked to someone," Mai said, completely oblivious of Azami.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I said. In order to keep her from worrying, I added, "Plus, keeping it to myself makes me feel stronger, and you know how much I like to do things by myself." This was half-true - I really did feel tougher by dealing with things by myself. On the other hand, I truly did want to tell her what was going on.

Mai smiled at the comment. I could tell that she still wished I would tell her what was wrong, but she didn't want to force me to say anything.

To start us on a new topic, I asked, "So have you given any more thought about trying to write again? That story you showed me a while back was really good, and if you ever wrote anything else, I'd definitely read it." I wanted to try and wake up her shugo egg, since it was my fault it had gone away in the first place. I dropped hints like this every now and then, in hopes that it might reignite Mai's love of writing. _Not to mention, I can tell her everything if it were to hatch again. _Azami rolled her eyes and flew off to the rest of the playground, bored by the conversation.

"Not really," Mai said as she absentmindedly sifted gravel through her fingers. "I would like to give it a try again, but I can't think of anything worth writing about."

"Maybe you could try writing in a diary," I suggested. "Maybe if you just started writing, you'd eventually get inspired."

Mai shook her head. "No, diaries aren't my thing. Plus, my life isn't exciting at all; I wouldn't have anything to write about."

"You're life doesn't have to be exciting to be interesting," I said. _How hypocritical of me; one of the reasons I joined Easter was because I wanted a more exciting life. Well, I got my wish - it just didn't turn out exactly as I'd planned._

"Even so, I still wouldn't know what to write about," Mai said. "What about you? Didn't you say once that you sometimes write? How do you come up with things to write about?"

I hadn't written for so long that it took me a minute to remember. "Well, I normally wrote about whatever came to mind. More for entertainment than anything. Whenever I got an idea, I'd write about it for as long as it kept me busy, or until a new idea came to me. But that meant that I never finished any story I started, so that's probably not the best way to do things." Now that I thought about it, I really would like to start writing again. It was fun, after all, and perhaps it would help keep the Darkness at bay.

"You never know - maybe if you keep at it, you'll find a story that you like so much that you'll just have to finish it," Mai said.

"Maybe," I said, just as my phone rang. I pulled the violet cell phone out of my bag and looked at the caller i.d. - Sanjo Kairi. _Perhaps I'll finally get to know what's going on._ "Sorry Mai, I've got to answer this."

"Not a problem," She said.

I opened my phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Yamada-san. This is Kairi. My sister says that the next step of her plan is ready, and that someone will be sent to pick you up at your house in about two hours." _So much for my advice... Sounds like he's the same as he's always been._

"Oh, okay," I said, trying to sound casual so that Mai wouldn't wonder what I was talking about. I hoped that the earpiece volume on my phone was low enough that Mai couldn't overhear what Kairi was saying. "Anything else?"

"No, that is all Yukari told me to tell you. The rest will be explained later," Kairi said.

"All right. Bye," I said, closing my phone.

"What was that about?" Mai asked.

I shrugged. In case she had heard the voice of who I was talking to, I answered, "It was Kairi. I've got some paperwork for the Guardians that I've got to do tonight, and he was reminding me so that I wouldn't forget. But it's quite a bit, so I suppose I really ought to get home to work on it."

Mai didn't doubt my explanation. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said.

I got up, dusted the dirt from my skirt, and grabbed my bag. "Yeah, I'll see you later," I said.

* * *

One of the generic Easter goons picked me up from my house, and I sat quietly in the back as he drove me to the Easter building. As I watched the city roll by outside the window, my feelings were mixed. A part of me was really glad something was finally happening. Even if I was no longer that happy about working for Easter, collecting X-eggs was actually a good way for someone like me to pass the time. Not to mention, I'd been nearly dying of curiosity, wanting to know what was going on.

Another part of me felt renewed guilt, since I was doing something evil and very anti-Guardian again after such a long period of inactivity. Then again, after months of guilt and worry, both emotions had started to lose their effectiveness. Now I was almost to the point where I knew that I _should _feel bad about it, but there really wasn't any guilt left. I supposed this was all for the better; as I'm sure Azami would have pointed out, it meant I was closer to being a dragon. Still, a voice at the back of my head told me that the guilt would be far from mild whenever Amu and the others learned the truth.

"We're here," said the generic goon as we pulled up to Easter's HQ.

_I figured that out for myself, you brainless ape, _I thought to myself as I got out of the car and entered the building. Since it was already fairly late, the lobby gave off the appearance of the building being closed: most of the lights were off, the secretary was gone, and no one was there.

Well, no one except for Yukari and Kairi. "It took you long enough to get here," Yukari said as she got up from the lobby couch she'd been sitting on. She walked up to me and handed me something. "Listen to that as we make our way up to the labs."

I looked down at the CD player and headphones that she'd just shoved into my hands. Intrigued, I opened the cover of the CD player to see what was in it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the CD inside was black with a big white 'X' that was highly reminiscent of an X-egg. I closed again and put the headphones on, pressing the 'play' button as we entered the elevator.

It didn't take long for me to be thoroughly in awe. I could tell immediately that this was Utau's newest song. It was haunting, like _Meikyuu Butterfly_, but more driving, like a rock song. It was amazing. It was better than any other song I could ever remember hearing. And it created exactly the same feeling that I got from listening to _Meikyuu Butterfly _live - a sense of power and force. In fact, I would have gone so far as to say that the X-energy in me was even more affected by this little CD than it was by the multiple live concerts I'd been to. I could literally feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up; _that _was how creepily moving this new song was. Azami, who had been floating next to my ear to hear, seemed equally thrilled.

A smirk of triumph came to Yukari's face as I took off the headphones. "Pretty good, isn't it?" she asked. "That's Utau's new song, though as far as the public knows, it's by a new, unknown indie rock band." As she said this, we made our way into a room. I had seen that we had got off at the floor where the scientists worked, so I guess it wasn't that surprising that this room was filled with complex-looking machines. And - also unsurprising - the three goofy scientists were there.

"Sanjo-san, would you like me to explain how the machine works to your brother and Yamada-san?" asked the overly-flattering guy scientist.

"If we listened to your explanation, we'd be here all night, Tsukumu," Yukari replied scornfully. "A demonstration will be enough for them to get the picture.

The scientist seemed offended, though he didn't say so. "Right away, Sanjo-san," he said.

As all three of the scientists started turning things on and making some adjustments, Yukari led Kairi and me over to a machine at one end of the room. The machine consisted of a top and a bottom half, with the top part suspended about a foot above the bottom part. An X-egg was positioned in an indentation on the top surface of the bottom part of the machine.

"This is the machine we use to make the Black Diamond CDs," Yukari said. "It may not seem like much, but the technology it uses allows it to change the X-egg without shattering it, thus retaining its power. Watch," she said as the machine activated. The top half moved down towards the X-egg. The X-egg struggled to escape the impending doom, but it didn't have a chance. The top half just kept on coming until it met up with the bottom half, squishing the X-egg flat. When the top half came back up, all that was left of the egg was a black CD with a white 'X' on it - exactly like the CD I'd just listened to.

I thought it was cool; being able to convert X-eggs into another form could have limitless uses. Personally, I thought X-egg candy might be a good idea, both for gathering more X-eggs and as a power boost for myself. When I looked over to Kairi, though, his face looked grave. I got the feeling that he probably didn't like people's dreams being used like this. Musashi seemed similarly serious. Azami didn't look all that interested.

"Some of these CDs have already been distributed at Utau's latest guerilla concerts," Yukari continued. "However, most of them will be given away by you two. Give them away to students from both your school and others, just don't let anyone know that you're the ones doing it. Kids your age work best; they seem to lose hold of their dreams most easily. I've got the CDs in my car, and each of them has a piece of paper in the case that says that the CD will grant a person's wish as long as the person passes it on within a week. That way, it will continue to spread."

_Pretty clever, I have to admit, _I thought. _And the lyrics are great for a song that supposedly grants wishes._

"So how are you going to collect all these X-eggs?" Azami asked.

Yukari looked annoyed at being addressed by a chara, but answered, "Utau's night concerts will draw most of them to her, but I want you and Miyuki to do some patrolling around at night, too, to catch any stragglers."

Azami grinned. "Good. That sounds more interesting than handing out CDs."

"But that's not all I need you two to do," Yukari said, looking from Azami to me. "You may not find it quite as interesting, but Easter would like to use your talents to their greatest extent. Follow me - Kairi, you can come as well." We followed her out the room to another room just down the hall. The three scientists came as well, though I wasn't sure if they were supposed to do this or if this was simply because they had nothing better to do than hang around and be annoying. Either way, Yukari didn't stop them.

When we entered this other room, I noted that it was set up in a similar fashion to the room where we'd just seen the Black Diamon CD being made. It even had a similar machine at one end of the room, though this was all one part.

"So what do you mean by using my talents?" I asked.

The scientists started working again (I guess they were supposed to be here, after all) while Yukari said, "Kairi told me the other day that you did something to your small collection of X-eggs from Utau's concerts, so that they wouldn't act up while you were at school. Could you explain what you did?"

"Uh, okay," I said, somewhat confused what this had to do with anything. "I chara-changed and put my fingernails in some water, which I think sorta drew out the poison or whatever you call it. I sprinkled it on the eggs, and the eggs stayed quiet. Later, after the second concert, I did the same thing, but with a cup of water; I waited until the water was a shade darker, then dripped some into my bag where I put the eggs. What about it?"

"We think we can replicate that, but on a much larger scale," Yukari replied. "We'll demonstrate." Yukari signaled to the three scientists to start this machine. The girl scientist went over to a box full of X-eggs at one side of the room, and took out a couple. Then she opened a compartment in the machine and put the X-eggs in, securely closing the door once they were inside. The annoying scientist (I think Tsukumu was what Yukari called him) started the machine. The effect wasn't very impressive - the machine hummed for a few moments, and then was still. That was it.

Finally, the big scientist went up to the machine. He opened a different compartment, reached in, and came out with a glass vial filled with black powder. He set this down on a table, next to a couple more vials that were filled with water (at least, it looked like water). Then, all of the scientists stepped out of the way, and Yukari approached the table. I followed her, and Kairi came behind me.

"This is powdered X-egg," Yukari said, holding up the vial of black powder. Kairi yet again seemed disgusted, but his sister took no notice. "Like the machine that makes the Black Diamond CDs, the machine in here is able to change the egg without it losing it's powerful properties. However, as our tests have shown, just doing this -" she added a pinch of the X-egg powder into one of the glasses of water, "- is not enough to draw out X-eggs, nor is it enough to even affect other X-eggs. But try chara-changing and dipping your finger nails into it, and we'll see how effective it is."

I shrugged and chara-changed. I dipped my fingers into the now grey-tinted water, but I'd hardly had them in there for a second when Yukari told me, "That's long enough."

My chara-change snapped away, and I asked, "Are you sure? It took me a couple minutes when I did this at my house."

Tsukumu piped up, "That's because you had to give your mixture energy then, Yamada-san. This time, the X-powder is providing the energy; all it needs is a bit of your chara-change's chemicals to activate it."

Either as punishment for speaking out of turn or just because she needed a test subject, Yukari suddenly sprinkled some of the cloudy water in Tsukumu's face. He flinched back, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, his eyes clouded over and he slumped to the floor, muttering something to himself. His fellow scientists quickly helped him up and tried to get him back to normal.

Yukari smiled with satisfaction. "As you can see, it works quite well. We'll be marketing it off as a perfume."

I looked at her, trying to figure out if she was telling a joke. "_Perfume_? Are you serious? Hardly anyone my age wears perfume, and you'll be totally missing out on getting X-eggs from guys. No self-respecting boy would be caught dead wearing perfume. Maybe you could get a couple of teenage girls or women with it, but it's a stupid idea."

"It wasn't my idea," Yukari said. "The scientists seem to think that there's only two ways the chemical from your chara-change can work. One is if it goes directly into the bloodstream, which would be logistically impossible for us to do on a mass scale. The other is by making a person smell it, which can be done."

"Does it even _ha__ve_ a smell?" I asked incredulously. Compared to the Black Diamond CDs, this seemed so... lame. In answer, Yukari handed me the glass of grey water. I lifted it up to my nose and gave a cautious sniff. To my surprise, not only was the smell strong, but it was familiar; it was exactly the same citrus-like dvrny as the smell from the smoke I could make while chara-changed. "Okay, it's strong, I'll give you that," I admitted. "But how are you going to get kids my age to buy it? Especially boys. As you said earlier, it's my age group that supplies the most X-eggs."

"Well, girls your age always want to be big girls, don't they? Well, they'll be able to feel like it if Easter starts marketing perfume to them. Boys are the same way - we'll just market it as male body deoderant or something instead. Add in Easter's ability to advertise and a rumor that the scent will make your crush fall in love with you, and kids will get it by the gallon."

I wasn't so sure, but I didn't argue. Yukari took me to another room and had me contaminate a dozen or so gallons (of pure, not X-powder contaminated water) with my poison/chemical whatever-it-is, so that Easter would have plenty for mass-producing the product. It took a little over a minute per gallon for the concentration to reach Yukari's standards, which meant that I ended up spending a good fifteen minutes swirling my fingernails in the water (this was one of the most boring and awkward things I've had to do in my life). When I finished, Yukari said that a drop or two of this stuff per bottle of perfume (mixed with the X-powder) would be enough to make it effective, and so this would be enough to make a large amount of the product. She also said that with Easter's resources, the finished product could be selling locally in just a couple days. _In other words, I won't have to wait to see this scheme fail miserably_, I thought, still skeptical about kids buying perfumes of any kind.

"Kairi, you can go wait in the lobby," Yukari said once I was done with the water. "There's one more thing I've got to talk to Miyuki about." Kairi quickly glanced over at me, but then nodded to his sister before leaving the room. _At least I'm not such a wimp that I'm willingly that obedient, _I thought scornfully. _Yukari__ is admittedly a lot more pleasant to listen to than __Nikaido_ (I shuddered at the mere memory of him as my former manager), _but I wouldn't let someone order me around like that just because she's my sister._ Something about that thought made me shudder again, though I hadn't a clue why.

I had a pretty good guess as to what was so secret that Kairi couldn't be there for it. And my guess was soon confirmed when Yukari pulled out the little remote thing with my crystal attached to it. "I'm fairly sure you two know the drill," Yukari said to Azami and me. "Kazuomi wanted you to take some more X-energy as long as you were here, to help operations go more smoothly."

"Am I not going to be graced with his presence today, then?" I asked sarcastically.

"No, he has gone home for the day," said Yukari. "Anyway, let's hurry this up. It's getting late. And don't try anything tricky, or else I activate this thing." She held out the remote thing in front of her, her thumb on the button and the crystal facing out towards me. I shrugged and nodded to Azami to go ahead and get it over with; there wasn't anything we could do about it right now, and I was sick of worrying about it. Plus, if we didn't, then Yukari would probably press the button. Though the shock of the first time I'd gone through that was more or less gone, I definitely did _not _want to experience it again.

So Azami went up to the crystal without complaint and touched it. As always, I felt the familiar spasm of pain to begin with. But it lasted only a moment, and then I felt the X-energy rush through Azami into me. There was no denying that the power felt great, but the feeling was bittersweet, now that I knew that Kazuomi was probably gaining more control over me because of it. The amount of power was about the same as last time, and I could only hope that I'd get used to it faster this time. I didn't want to deal with the Darkness disrupting me every other day.

Then, as the energy stopped flowing, Azami did something I hadn't expected; she rapidly took hold of the crystal and tried to pull it from the remote. But the crystal was firmly attached, and Yukari had a firm grip on the remote. Yukari was ready for this, either out of precaution or because she was expecting something like this. She pressed the button. She barely tapped the button, in all reality; it probably held down for only a fraction of a second.

But that fraction of a second was enough. Both Azami and I dropped to the floor. For that short moment, I wanted to die. I felt incomplete, like a horse with a broken leg or a bird with an seriously injured wing. The pain was terrible, both psychologically and physically. And while I won't exaggerate it by saying it felt like an eternity, I will say this: I could have every bone broken in my body _forever_, and I still didn't think the pain would ever compare to what I felt in just that moment.

Still, since it hadn't lasted as long as last time (last time had been a couple seconds of torture, rather than a fraction of a second), my recovery time was slightly quicker. In thirty seconds I was able to push myself up the ground. In another half a minute, I stood up, though I was still somewhat shaky. Azami floated over to me, and for a moment, I hated her; if she hadn't made a stupid grab for the crystal, I wouldn't have had to go through that pain. But I couldn't hate Azami for long, and besides, it was Yukari that had pressed the button, not my chara.

"Sorry I had to do that," Yukari said, actually sounding somewhat sincere. "But Director Hoshina wouldn't have been happy if I let you get his crystal."

I stared blankly down at the floor, and didn't respond. It didn't matter if she was sorry about it or not; that kind of thing could not be forgiven. Ever.

Yukari ignored my silence, and led the way out of the room, to the elevators, and back down to the lobby. Kairi was waiting for us. Being as perceptive as he was, he noticed almost immediately that Azami and I were far from being our normal selves. I probably looked just about as defeated as I felt. Both Kairi and Musashi looked at us seriously, trying to figure out what could have happened to bring about such an abrupt and dramatic change. I looked back at him, but even with all the hate I had towards Yukari I had right now, it couldn't break through my blank look. It would be a while before I could get over the immediate shock of the pain.

Kairi didn't have a lot of time to stare, though. Yukari led us away, out a back entrance, and to the parking garage. It was already nighttime, and so Yukari's car was the only one there. We got in, with Kairi and I in the back seat and Yukari driving. Kairi continued to look at me for much of the drive, and it seemed like he desperately wanted to talk to me. But he couldn't as long as Yukari could listen in. Both Azami and Iignored him; we were too lost in our own unpleasant thoughts to notice.

"Kairi, help Miyuki take her bags in," Yukari said when we pulled up to the house. Kairi and I both got out and went to the trunk of the car, where the bags of CD's were. Kairi still seemed determined to figure out what had happened, but I didn't really care. I was still in a daze. We each pulled out two large plastic shopping bags, each filled to the brim with stacks of CD's.

We walked up to my front door with our loads. As I put down one of my bags so that I could open the door, Kairi took a cautious look backwards, probably to make sure that his sister wasn't listening. Apparently satisfied that we wouldn't be overheard, he asked, "What is it that happened to you, Yamada-san? You seem... different now, since I left you and my sister alone back in Easter."

I listened to what he was asking, but I wasn't able to care enough to answer. I didn't even look at him. I just went ahead and opened the door to my house and went in. My parents, as always, ignored me. Even when Kairi followed after me, they paid us no mind. I had my suspicions that every time I got stronger, the hypnotism got stronger, too.

I was so used to it that I wouldn't even have noticed it, had I not seen Kairi so perplexed by their obvious disinterest in their own daughter. A smile nearly broke through my otherwise blank look. _I've grown a lot more dragonish than I realized_. I knew that there had been a time that I had felt guilty about hypnotizing my parents, and back then, I would have felt even worse upon someone seeing how thoughtless I could be. Now, it was just a part of life. Unfortunately, I had worse things to worry about now.

We went up the stairs and into my room. I dropped my bags carelessly on the floor, then walked over to my window and looked out on the street below. Ginger rubbed against my legs for a moment, but then turned to look curiously at Kairi. I heard two soft thuds as Kairi placed his bags on the floor, but I didn't turn around. I didn't want to face Kairi right now. I didn't want to face anyone. I just wanted to be alone. The Darkness would overtake me as soon as he was gone, I was sure, and it didn't seem like there was any use in forestalling it.

But Kairi wasn't ready to leave yet. I heard him take a couple of steps closer to me, but still I looked out the window. Ginger moved a couple feet away, as if to get a better view of both Kairi and me. "Yamada-san..." Kairi said hesitantly. "Please answer my question." I watched a car drive down the road below me. Kairi was too polite to keep this up; he'd leave if I ignored him long enough.

Suddenly, I felt his hand grip my arm as he turned me around to face him. "Miyuki, please tell me! I've seen today what my sister is capable of doing to people's dreams. I don't want to believe that she'd do something as terrible to another human, but if she is, then I want to know the truth." He spoke softly, but he couldn't have been more intense even if he'd yelled at the top of his lungs.

I was simply shocked, so much so that I nearly forgot about what had happened today. Kairi was usually so polite. Now, not only had he called me by my first name, but he'd also grabbed me and forced me to turn towards him. _What Yukari showed us today must have really upset him, _I thought. There was no other explanation for his sudden lack of formality. I almost could have mistaken it as we're-more-than-just-friends concern, if not for the fact that I'd already admitted to myself that a relationship like that was never going to happen.

I really wanted to tell him, since he seemed so desperate to know. And I knew now that there was no chance that he'd tell his sister or anyone else, and that there was no way for Easter to hear me up in my room. Still, I remembered that Kazuomi said he'd punish me if I told anyone, and the pain from today was still too fresh on my mind to disobey. But Kairi's sudden outburst had at least given me the motivation to reply. "I'm sorry, Kairi, but can't tell you that," I said. My voice was weak and sad, which reflected how I was feeling. "I will say this; you saw that I was perfectly fine before, and you can see how I am now. Yukari did this to me, though if it's any comfort to you, it wasn't her idea and this isn't the first time it's happened to me. But the things you saw your sister do to the X-eggs today aren't as bad as what she did to me. Not nearly as bad. That's why I said that it would be best for you to get out of Easter while you still can."

Kairi was stunned, I could tell. But he composed himself enough to say, "Thank you for your warning, Yamada-san. I'll think more seriously about what you've said." I watched him walk away, but he turned around in the doorway to say one last thing. "But I'm not sure if I can just abandon my sister like that. Even if I did stop working for Easter, I could never face the Guardians. After helping out with my sister's plans, my honor as a samurai wouldn't allow it." Then he turned again and left. I heard a car honk just outside; Yukari must have been getting impatient.

For a while, I stayed standing, looking blankly at the empty doorway where Kairi had been. Then, when I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, I went over and sat down on my bed. I tucked my legs up against my body, and defeatedly rested my forehead on my knees. As I'd expected, the Darkness was coming. And, as was usually the case, I could do nothing to stop it.

* * *

Well, school starts tomorrow for me. But considering how slowly I've been getting my chapters out over the Summer, I think I'll actually get them out faster now. I'm hoping that I'll get back to doing at least one a week, with the chapter usually coming out sometime during the weekends. But enough of that - it is now time for the grand thanking-of-reviewers that I've been meaning to do. Frankly, a lot of them may not feel very personal even though I'm trying to thank everyone on an individual level, so sorry in advance about that. So here it is, with thanks given in no particular order:

Bookits: Thanks for all the reviews~! Their short and sweet, and they help keep me motivated~

NightmareSyndrom: Special thanks for your review a while back about keeping up with these little post-chapter note-from-the-author things. I was trying to be too serious about this story, and you helped me lighten up a bit. And though I'm sure I've said this before, it's great for me to hear that you like my fanfic so much.

The one and only Mimi Cha: As always, I love to hear from you. Thanks for reviewing!

XXThe wish GranterXX: Thanks for the reviews, and I'm glad you like the story~!

jackinafrickenbox: You've got the most entertaining reviews I've ever read! I laugh even when rereading them multiple times. Thanks!

Orangesz: Thanks for reviewing! (sorry, can't think of anything else to say...)

LovelyIAmNot: Thanks for the reviews! (still running out of ways to say thanks...)

Kitty Obsessive Disorder: I'm pretty sure you've reviewed this story continuously for longer than anyone else, so thanks a TON for all your encouragement as the story has progressed. And, of course, thanks again for giving me the idea of putting Ginger in the story!

Also, general thanks to - RedemptionWarrior, Sublime Skies, GoldenDragon326, Mayacompany, and Akan Tsubasa. (all people who have reviewed my story once in the past five chapters or so) Sorry, now I'm just being lazy not to thank each of you, but I really m running out of ways to say 'thank you'. So here's one big thanks to all of you: !!!!THANK YOU!!!!


	11. A Change of Heart

When I got to school the next day, I saw that Kairi must have been busy during the night. Almost every group of chatting students I passed on the way in had at least one of the X-CDs. _I'll probably have to work hard tonight at distributing my CDs. Otherwise Yukari and Kazuomi might get angry with me for falling behind, _I thought with a sigh. The Darkness had been enough to tire me out last night, and so all of my CD's were still sitting around in my room. And even though I'd gone to sleep at a decent hour, my night had been far from restful; the nightmares were back.

"It looks like Kairi still isn't taking your advice," Azami commented. "Will you finally admit that wasting time on anyone but yourself isn't going to do anything?"

I shrugged and pulled my cell phone out of my book bag. I pretended to talk into the phone as I said to Azami, "Give him a couple days. I bet Kairi will figure it out."

"And that's exactly my point," Azami retorted. "He'll be figuring it out, not listening to your advice. In the end, he'll just be doing what he would have done anyway, even without your advice. He didn't trust you enough to listen. You went through the trouble of warning him for nothing. That's why dragons don't worry about anyone else but themselves."

Ouch. I'd never really thought of that - what if Kairi really didn't trust me? It would make a lot of sense; after all, his chara is an honorable samurai, while my chara is a dragon who doesn't know the meaning of honor. And I'd told him last night that I'd joined Easter because I'd wanted to, and he'd seen how I ignored my parents completely. Azami was probably right. Kairi was probably deliberately ignoring my advice, perhaps guessing that it was all a ploy by Easter.

_Exactly like how I didn't trust Ikuto when he tried to warn me about the crystal, _I thought grimly. Then again, I couldn't really believe that. I still liked Kairi, and I wanted to believe that he could believe in me. "I don't think that's it. This is just a big decision for him. He can't make up his mind, that's all. He's probably thinking about my advice, but he either hasn't made his final decision or simply hasn't had the right chance to get away from his sister's orders."

Azami scowled at me. "Why in the world are you so bent on hoping that he'll quit Easter? I thought you said that you were going to stop liking Kairi."

"I never said that. I just said that I wasn't going to keep hoping for something that wouldn't happen," I answered. "And I've stuck with that. There's still no way that he'd ever like me, and I've already come to terms with that. I'm not planning on trying to start any sort of relationship." This was completely true, and I'd grown so used to the fact that it didn't even bother me to say it out loud. "Still, I can't stop myself from liking him. If it's any consolation to you, the feeling will probably fade as the fact finally sinks in that even a friendship with him wouldn't work." This thought actually cheered me up a bit; I didn't want to keep on being interested in someone who I'd never be able to be with.

Azami wasn't satisfied. "So if you're not trying to encourage anything, why do you keep helping him?" When I wasn't able to come up with an answer right away, she continued, "Just forget about him. Let him deal with his own problems, while we deal with ours."

"Maybe you're right..." I said.

"Of course I am," Azami said, as if that was all there was to be said on the matter.

We were still outside the school, and there was still a good bit of time before school started. I decided to go inside and find Kairi, despite Azami's advice to forget about him. As I walked through the hallways, I saw more and more people holding CDs, talking in excited whispers. I doubted anyone had actually listened to it yet, since most people didn't bring CD players to school. Azami protested when she figured out where I was going, but I just kept walking.

I found Kairi at his locker, putting some books away. He looked very tired, and I couldn't blame him; he must have been up a while to get all these CDs distributed. I came up behind him and said, "It looks like you got quite a bit done last night."

Kairi jumped a little and turned around, then relaxed a little when he saw that it was me. "Oh, it's you, Yamada-san. Yes, my sister brought me here right after we left your house. But is it really okay for us to be talking about this here?"

"It's noisy enough in this hallway that we won't be heard," I said. "And with these 'mysterious CDs' showing up overnight, I don't think it's too out of the ordinary for two Guardians to be talking. So how many CDs did you give out?" It was nice to be talking to Kairi like this. It's not like this was the most casual of conversations, but he really did seem to be a little bit more friendly than he normally was when we were talking at school. A small hope flared at the back of my mind; maybe we really _could _be friends. At least until he decides to switch sides.

"I got rid of a full bag last night," Kairi replied. "My sister didn't want me to give them all away at once."

Something occurred to me, so I asked, "You didn't give any to the other Guardians, did you?"

He looked down at the ground, as if ashamed. "Yes, I did. My sister said that if she wanted to get rid of the Guardians, and that this could do just that."

I paled slightly. If they all listened to that CD, then what would become of them? Pepe, Miki, Kususkusu, and all the others would probably turn into X-eggs. And Amu, Tadase, Yaya, and Rima would all be reduced to hopeless shells, without any real purpose. I was okay if that happened to Rima (in fact, I hoped it would happen to her as quickly as possible), but I didn't really want all the others to be like that. No matter how distant I'd been from them lately, they were still my friends.

But what could I do? If I warned them about it, they'd know I was part of the source of the problem. And Easter would figure out that I'd warned them, and I'd get punished. The only thing I could think to do was speed up Kairi's switch to the 'good' side, so that he could stop them.

"Is that really what you want?" I asked. "You do realize that if it works, there probably won't be any way to get them back to their regular selves, don't you?"

Before Kairi could answer, Azami flew right in front of my face and hit me in the forehead with her tail. "Ouch!" I said as I took a step back and rubbed my forehead. "What was that for?"

Azami glared at me with such ferocity that I was absolutely speechless as she said, "Will you just listen to me for once! Every time I suggest something, you act like you listen, and then you just keep on going along with your stupid human inclinations! Do you even want to be a dragon anymore!?! Because lately, I haven't seen you act like a dragon at all! Do you _want _me to disappear?!? Are you really willing to give up your own dreams so easily!?! You've got to let go of the Guardians eventually if you want to be a dragon, and now is as good a time as any!"

Kairi and Musashi were right there, listening to all of this, but I was too flabbergasted to even think about them. Azami was totally right. The past few days, all I'd been doing was trying to help Kairi, even though I knew that he never really cared that much about me. This was probably the main reason why Azami was angry. The thought of her disappearing opened a pit of worry in my stomach; I would never be able to bear that happening. Even if I didn't act like it a lot of the time, I still desperately wanted to be a dragon, and Azami was the only one who could help me with that. If I didn't listen to her, then I'd always be just another person.

"You're right," I admitted softly, feeling thoroughly ashamed. Still, there was something else that was bothering me. "But why did you encourage me to help the Guardians at the end of last semester, then?"

"Because that was about choosing to do what you wanted," Azami said, still glaring. "The most important thing then was to not let yourself be forced to do something you didn't want to do. As long as you disobeyed Nikaido, I didn't care what the reason for it was. But _now_, we don't have a choice. And honestly, even if we _did _have a choice, I'd still be just as angry about this! You've got to grow up sometime and realize that a dragon has absolutely no need for friends."

_But what if I've been wrong all this time? Wrong about wanting to become a dragon? What if Azami really isn't what I want to be? _I thought, suddenly consumed with doubt. The Darkness flared, feeding my doubt to depressingly high levels. _What if-_

Thankfully, my thoughts were interrupted Yaya dashed up to Kairi and me, completely breaking up the tension. "Hey, Kairi-kun and Miyuki-chi! Did you see all these weird CDs everywhere? They all just appeared overnight!"

"Very strange, dechu~" Pepe added.

Kairi recovered more quickly than I could. "Er, yes. We were just talking about it. Did you get one, Yuiki-san?"

Yaya nodded enthusiastic and dug through her bookbag, dropping papers and pens all over the floor. "Yep! Here it is!" She finally pulled the black CD from her bag. "But Yaya doesn't have anything here to listen to it on! Do you two have a CD player?"

Finally having enough sense to respond, I said, "I don't have one." Yaya looked hopefully over to Kairi, but he shook his head.

Yaya pouted, and looked like she was going to have a tantrum. "Yaya wants to listen to it now!"

It was about then that everyone started heading to their respective classrooms, which meant that Kairi and I could avoid the tantrum. "There's only a couple minutes left until class, and I don't want to be late," I said, hastily backing away. "I'll see both of you at lunch." Kairi said his farewells, too, and Yaya immediately snapped out of her grumpy mood in order to get to her own class.

* * *

All that morning, my thoughts hovered around what Azami had said. _What if trying to be a dragon really isn't the best thing for me to do? Maybe that explains why I've been acting stupid enough to get Azami so angry with me. Maybe I just can't do it, or maybe I just don't really want to. _The Darkness started feeding my hopelessness at the thought. I quickly did my best to shake it off. _No! That can't be it. I know that's not it. I've wanted to be a dragon for so long. And through my chara-nari, I've felt what it's like to be one. To be responsible only to myself, and to get strength from that fact. I've never felt anything equal to that. I _know _that I still want to be a dragon._

_But... I'm such a failure. _I thought, as the Darkness continued to hound my thoughts. _When Azami hatched and I finally got the chance to be a dragon, I decided to be human by making friends. And even if I could keep them as friends, I've already lied to them and betrayed them too much for that to ever happen. I fail at being a dragon, and I fail at being a human. If I'm going to be a dragon, I've got to commit myself to that goal only. Nothing else can get in the way._

Despite my resolve to really become a dragon, the Darkness kept on clouding my thoughts. The boost from last night had definitely worsened it, though it didn't seem quite as big of a change as last time. When lunch finally came around, I was thoroughly depressed, though I did my best not to let it show. As I had expected, we talked solely about the CDs. All of them had received a CD, but none of them had listened to it yet. Most kids around here had an mp3 of some sort if they wanted to listen to music, and since no one mentioned any X-eggs popping up yet, I was now guessing that absolutely nobody had a CD player that they brought to school.

What surprised me was that, for the most part, the Guardians didn't seem at all concerned. Yaya was just excited about listening to the CD when she got home. She had heard a rumor that it was by an up-and-coming band that had been playing in the area recently. I nearly choked on my food when I heard this, since that was almost exactly the truth. I guess that, for all the absolute nonsense rumors that went around this school, one or two of them had to be true every now and then.

Tadase said that as long as the lyrics were kid-friendly, then there was no reason for the Guardians to interfere. He did wonder who could have gotten them into the school and distributed so many, and he thought that if it happened again, the Guardians might need to investigate. Other than that, he wasn't very worried.

Amu was the only one who seemed slightly unsure about it. She didn't really seem suspicious, but she didn't seem very relaxed about the issue, either. I had to admit it; Amu had a great sense of intuition. Rima said that she agreed with Amu, being too much of a brainless brat to come up with her own thoughts on the matter.

I mostly stayed out of the conversation, only saying something when I absolutely needed to. Azami's rant from this morning was still fresh on my mind, and I was still ashamed at what a pitiful excuse for a dragon I was right now. The Darkness was making me feel almost certain that I'd never be a dragon, and yet that somehow made me all the more determined to keep trying. Which meant that I _had _to stop being so friendly with the others.

When lunch was over, I went back to class. As the afternoon progressed, the Darkness got slightly better, but not much. But I appreciated feeling even that little bit better. Azami continued to act rather annoyed with me, as if to emphasize the fact that she was truly angry about the current situation. And I couldn't really blame her for it. The school day seemed to drag on forever, and eventually my mind wandered away from the topic of my lack of dragon-ness. I started wondering when the first X-egg would appear. And I wondered how long it would take for everyone in the school to listen to the CDs. But that was all just speculation, and I didn't focus on it too much; I'd probably find out later tonight just how effective the CDs were.

More importantly, I wondered what Kairi thought about me now, after hearing what Azami had to say this morning. Though I hadn't really been focused on him at the time, I now remembered that he'd seemed fairly shocked. I got the sense that, before this morning, he'd thought that I really wasn't too bad. And now, I wasn't sure what he thought. At lunch, he'd consistently avoided talking to me or even making eye contact with me.

And, to my surprise, I found that I really didn't care what he thought of me anymore. I still liked him, but it was almost as if the feeling was buried somewhere deep within me. And at that thought, I realized that I was thinking in a drastically different way today than I had been yesterday. I hadn't _really _listened to Azami's instructions for what seemed like months, and today, I was suddenly listening to and agreeing with everything she told me. It was an so different that I wasn't sure what to call it, but if I had to describe it... Well, I guessed I would say that I felt hardened.

_It must have been happening since the beginning of this semester, when I first felt the sting of what the crystal could do to me, _I thought, everything suddenly seeming very clear to me. _I've been slow to recognize it, but now I see why I started growing so distant. Part of it was because of Rima, and part of it was just because I wasn't in the same class with Amu anymore. But mostly... mostly it was because I was learning that I was in trouble, and that no one could help me. Amu had her own problems with Dia turning into an X-egg, and I couldn't even tell Mai because she doesn't have a chara. And then Azami's little speech this morning was what really made me open my eyes and see the facts. I can't rely on anyone else. If I want to get out of the mess I'm in, then I have to rely on my own strength._

I suppose I should have been sad about all this, but I couldn't. Now that I'd realized it, I knew that this was just how the world works. If anything, I just felt all the more determined to become a dragon. Sure, I still didn't particularly want to hurt the Guardians, but if there was no way to avoid it, then so be it. And I'd still be friends with Mai, but I resolved to stop it from becoming any more best-friendish than it already was. Ultimately, everyone is alone in the world, and the illusion of friendship wouldn't change that. Azami was the only one I could really count on, since she was a part of me.

Still, when the school day ended, I couldn't completely abandon my loyalty to Mai as a friend. My feelings and thoughts were so mixed right now, but I knew I still liked her. And unless I warned her about the CDs now, then she would have her dream ripped away. Again. I had felt horrible enough doing it to her last time, and I doubted anyone deserved to have an egg of the heart taken away once, nonetheless twice.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Miyuki," Mai said after the end-of-the-day bell had rung. She knew I had a Guardian meeting today, and this was normally all we said whenever I had to hurry down to the Royal Garden.

But, of course, today was different. "Wait a minute, Mai," I said. Mai paused and stopped packing her bag, looking at me curiously. All the other students milled in their own groups around us, but none payed any attention to us. I continued, "Did you get one of those CDs?"

Mai shook her head. "No," she replied. "Are you feeling okay? You've been looking more out-of-it than usual today."

"I've been better, but I'm okay," I said, smiling meekly. "But about the CDs... This is going to sound weird, and I can't really explain, so you'll just have to trust me, okay? And you can't tell anyone."

Mai nodded. "What is it? Is something wrong with them?"

"As I said, I can't explain, but just do me a favor and don't listen to any of them, under any circumstances. All right?" I tried not to sound too foreboding, but I was talking as seriously as possible, to let her know that this wasn't a joke of some kind.

Mai looked concerned and puzzled, but she didn't argue. "Okay."

"Thanks," I said. "Anyway, I've got to go now. I'll see you later."

"Yeah. See you," Mai replied, still seeming a bit confused.

I left the room, walking slowly despite the fact that I was already somewhat late to the Guardians meeting. As I walked, Azami went off on another rage. "You see!?! You're _still _helping people out! You are-"

"Stop," I said plainly, not caring if anyone else thought I was talking to myself. I'm not sure if it was my tone or something else, but Azami immediately quieted down and looked intently at me. I didn't look back at her, though; I just kept on looking straight forward. "I heard you this morning. And you're right. From here on out, I'm going back to really trying to be a dragon. I think I'll be able to let go of Amu and the Guardians... they've got each other to rely on, after all, so I don't need to feel too bad about that. But while Mai has other friends, she thinks of me as her _best _friend, and I think the same about her. Please, just give me a while to adjust. I really want to try." Saying all this out loud seemed to cement it for me; this was how it was going to be from now on.

_Now, I really am going to become a dragon. Even if I have to rip out my heart and emotions to do it._

Azami scrutinized me. After a few seconds, she asked, "Are you really saying this? Or is the X-energy making you?"

I briefly closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't be sure, to be honest," I said. "The Darkness has been messing with my thoughts all day. But... but I think I'm committed this time."

"You mentioned the Guardians and Mai, but what about Kairi?" Azami questioned.

"I haven't known him for nearly as long as the others, and I really haven't talked to him all that much, either. Now that I can think about it differently, I guess I was just desperate for someone I could relate to." I knew this was only half-true, but it was true nonetheless. And the other half of the truth was now buried so deep within me that it couldn't do anything to argue.

Azami flew over in front of my face and looked directly into my eyes. I kept walking, and my chara just floated backwards, always making sure she was a few inches in front of me. After a few moments of this, a grin broke out on her face. "Then lighten up!" She said, doing a few circuits around my head. "Being a dragon is fun, once you get used to it. It's like playing an instrument; you hate it at first, but eventually you're able to upstage everyone else with your skill. Then you'll be the one enjoying yourself while everyone else is still failing to learn the notes."

Even in my current mood, Azami's enthusiasm was contagious. I smiled. "And since when have you resorted to using music to make a point?"

Azami stopped circling my head and shrugged. "What can I say? I pick up things when I'm forced to hang around with charas like Miki while _you _are talking about pointless stuff with the Guardians."

The mention of the Guardians made me lose my smile, but I was still in a generally better mood than I had been in the rest of the day. Which wasn't saying much, though just having Azami not angry with me was enough to keep me in a relatively optimistic mood. _Even if I alienate myself from everyone else, _I thought, _at least this way, I'll still have Azami. _

I quite dawdling and hurried over to the Royal Garden. But almost as soon as I reached the door, Azami (who was sitting on top of my head) stiffened.

"What is it?" I asked, not yet opening the door.

In an almost amused voice, she answered, "It's the first of the X-eggs. I'd been wondering when they'd start popping up."

The door in front of me opened, and I was suddenly face-to-face with Tadase. Amu, Yaya, Rima, and Kairi were all behind him. "Yamada-san, where were you?" Tadase asked. Before I could respond, he continued, "No, never mind. There's no time for that. The charas sensed multiple X-eggs in the school, so we need to hurry before they do too much damage. Let's go."

We ran to the school, for once not bothering if the other students stared at us. I followed at the rear, but as we ran, two of the Guardians looked back at me for a moment. Kairi was the first. His face wasn't as expressionless as it usually was, but other than the fact that he was serious, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Rima was the other, and she glared at me with such obvious suspicion that she must have supposed that _I _was the source of the X-eggs. I just glared back at her; I could care less about whether she suspected me or not.

We located the X-eggs in the computer lab. A group of six kids from my grade was standing forlornly around one of the computers. Two younger students were also in the lab, each staring blankly at their respective monitors. On the monitor of the screen where the group was gathered, I caught a glimpse of an opened music player program. _That would explain it, then. I'm surprised no one else thought of the computers as a means to play the CDs. And clustered mid-air in the center of the room were eight X-eggs._

"How were so many drawn out at once?" Amu wondered aloud. We hadn't seen any X-eggs for about the past week, and so even one would have been a big deal, let alone eight in one room.

The others didn't have any time to guess. X-energy was launched towards us, and we were all forced to jump out of the way. The X-energy flew out through the open door and dissipated when it hit the wall outside. The X-eggs made a dash for the open doorway, but Rima did a quick chara-nari and grabbed the doorknob with one of her 'tightrope dancer' ropes, pulling it shut. _That's the only thing she could possibly be good for - closing doors, _I thought as I character-transformed as well. Amu got the drift, and changed into Amulet Clover.

The X-eggs, seeing that they were trapped, now turned to an offensive strategy. "Useless!" They shouted in unison, sending out a salvo of of X-energy in all directions. All the Guardians except for me ducked down to avoid the attack (I didn't need to, since I could just absorb it). I grimaced as it hit computers, shattering monitors and obliterating hard drives all around the computer lab. Glass went flying everywhere, and since I hadn't ducked down in the first place, I soon found my arms and legs covered in scratches. I instinctively stepped backwards, but I brought my foot forward again when I felt shards of glass and plastic digging into my bare feet.

But I'd felt pain much worse than this. I didn't let it bother me. I noted that the eight regular kids had all been knocked to the floor, and they all looked badly scratched, since all of them had been in too much of a daze to avoid the shrapnel.

From inside me, Azami spoke (which, as always, was a weird sensation). "We'd better get rid of those, before we destroy another couple thousand dollars worth of equipment and before we get those other kids killed," my chara said. "Though, admittedly, that'd be pretty interesting to see."

I didn't answer her, though, because now the X-eggs were flying towards the windows, which they had managed to shatter. The other Guardians were still recovering from the X-energy and the glass, and so it was up to me to either stop the X-eggs or let them go. I decided to distract them, because so far I hadn't really done anything. Plus, I wasn't particularly happy about having scratches all over.

"Hey! X-eggs! Look here!" The X-eggs, being the idiotic things that they were, stopped and turned around. I mustered up my best hypnotizing glare, trying to hold them all in place at once. It wasn't easy, since I had to look at the group as a whole, rather than at one individual.

"Amu! Cleanse them now!" Tadase said. He had a scratch on his cheek and a couple more on his arms, but other than that, he looked unscathed.

Amu hurried to get up off the floor. Like Tadase, she had a couple of scratches, but not many. "Oh, right!" she said. A whisk appeared in her hand, and she pointed it towards the immoble X-eggs. "Remake Honey!"

Honey flooded the room, first hitting the X-eggs and then spreading out from there. It did exactly what it was supposed to do; it purified the X-eggs, fixed the computers and windows, and even healed the cuts on everyone else. I remembered just in time that the honey didn't have the same effect on me, and so I practically dove beneath one of the tables. Still, a big glob managed to latch onto one of my wings. I clenched my teeth together, doing my best not to yell out in pain, and then quickly un-transformed. The blob fell heavily on the floor next to me. It disappeared a few seconds later.

"Huh? Miyuki-chi, why'd you duck under the table?" Yaya asked from across the room, apparently already recovered from the battle.

I got out from my hiding spot. All of the Guardians were looking at me curiously. "You're still covered in scratches," Amu, who was still character-transformed, pointed out. "Want me to fix them?"

"No, that's okay," I said quickly. Seeing that I'd have to explain before the others would be satisfied, I said, "Something about Remake Honey just doesn't work quite right with me. It hurts more than it helps."

Rima glared at me, and even Tadase seemed suspicous. "Maybe you're allergic to honey, Miyuki-chi!" Yaya suggested.

"Whatever it is, you need to get to the nurse," Amu said, concerned.

"No, really, it's fine," I insisted. Admittedly, it _did _look quite bad; though my uniform jacket covered up my arms, my legs had numerous scratches on them. But these were all short and shallow. I'd live. "Besides, what would the nurse say?"

"Why don't you let me walk Yamada-san home?" Kairi asked, obviously trying his best to get away from the Guardians for the moment. Or maybe he needed to talk to me. "Until we know what caused the X-eggs to form, it's probably not safe for Yamada-san to go home alone. But she needs to get some bandages, and she probably needs to rest as well."

Whatever his reasons, I went along with it. "That'd be good - if I've got someone walking next to me, it might help to block my legs from view. I don't need another rumor starting about how I fought off a hoard of lizards or something."

Tadase nodded, and I wondered if I'd just imagined the suspicious look earlier. "Good idea. The rest of us will stay here for now. When these kids wake up, we'll ask them if they remember what they were doing beforehand." I wondered why the Guardians didn't just look at the computer screens, so that they could see for themselves what the kids had been doing. Then I looked over and realized that, even though the computers had been fixed, all of them were turned off.

Kairi and I turned to leave, but before we could exit the room, all of the charas jumped.

"An X-egg!" Kiseki said, looking off towards one of the walls.

"No, it's this way!" Miki said, pointing the opposite direction. "Just a couple blocks away, I think."

Yaya looked back and forth. "Which one of you is right?"

"They're both right, desu~," Su said worriedly. "There's one in both directions, desu~."

"Where are they coming from?" Rima asked quietly, though the glare she was giving me told me that she at least _thought _that she knew that I was the culprit.

Tadase got that look on his face that made him look like a determined goody-goody. "I don't know, but we have to stop it," Tadase said. "Yamada-san and Sanjo-kun, you two go ahead. Once Yamada-san is back at her house, we'll probably need you to come back and help, Sanjo-kun."

"I understand," Kairi said.

"In the meantime, we'll try and get those X-eggs," Tadase said, turning back to Amu, Rima, and Yaya. "Hinamori-san and Yuiki-san, you two go to the one that Miki sensed. Mashiro-san and I will go after the one Kiseki felt."

We all agreed, and dispersed. All the others rushed out of the school, but Kairi and I hung back. I went to the bathroom first of all, since I had to wash off my cuts.

"Amazing what little pieces of glass can do to you," Azami commented as I took off my uniform jacket and washed my arms.

I didn't answer. I was thinking about what had just happened. I had just helped the Guardians without a second thought on the matter. Maybe I wasn't so committed to being a dragon after all. Then again, whenever an X-egg appears and I'm with the Guardians, we _always _go after it, so maybe it was enough of a habit that I couldn't really think about it. _That has to be it_, I thought. _If I'd really been doing it to help them, then I'd have been more worried when they got cut up, even if none of them were hurt very badly. In fact, now that I think about it, I'd hardly cared that they'd been hurt. It might've helped that I was in my chara-nari at the time, but even so, maybe this is a sign that I really can be a dragon._ I hoped this was right, and so I left it at that.

When I got out of the restroom (limping slightly, due to the gouges in my foot), Kairi was waiting for me. "My sister called. She's waiting for us now." He was speaking in his business-like tone of voice, like he normally did. And yet, somehow, I felt like he was talking coldly to me. I couldn't imagine what could have caused the change, unless he'd finally made up him mind about what Azami had said this morning.

Whatever it was, I no longer minded that much anymore. I also had a strong feeling that I was imagining things, or that perhaps Kairi was upset about something else. Maybe something his sister had said. I didn't know. Anyway, I followed him out to the car. I half expected Utau to be there, too, but it was just Yukari in her generic black car. Both Kairi and I got soundlessly in the back seat, with our charas hovering next to us. But Yukari didn't drive off just yet; instead, she turned to face us.

First of all, she looked me up and down. I could tell that she was examining the scratches. "Kairi told me what happened. You don't look that great, but it doesn't seem serious. It shouldn't slow you down for what I need you to do tonight, at least." Yukari said. "Listen closely, because I don't want to have to say this more than once. According to Kairi, the Guardians have already cleansed eight X-eggs. This isn't much, but I don't want them to keep cleansing eggs all night. I want every X-egg we can get. Kairi and I will be passing out all the CDs we can around the city today, at least until night comes. Once it's dark, we'll just let Utau do her singing. Miyuki, have you passed out your CDs yet?"

"No," I answered flatly.

"Then we'll go by your house and pick those up first," Yukari said as if it were the most logical thin in the world. "While we are doing this, you will be gathering up all the X-eggs as they appear, _before _the Guardians can get to them. Once you get a big enough group of X-eggs, you'll bring them to the roof of the Easter building. There will be crates up there waiting for you, and all you'll have to do is open one of them, put the eggs in it, and close it again so they can't get out. Do you got all of that?"

I shrugged. "I guess so."

Yukari smiled. Surprisingly, it wasn't a cruel smile; mainly, it was intended to be encouraging. "Good girl. Then there's one last thing you need to know. With the Guardians out and about and with you toting around large amounts of X-eggs, chances are that you'll meet up with them before the night is over. If that happens, don't even bother trying to keep your allegiances secret. Just do what it takes to keep the X-eggs. If you can, give them a thorough beating, so that they'll think twice about messing with Easter again. And if you fail to do all this, then you know the consequences. And this time, it'll be much worse than last night. Understand?"

"Yeah," I said past the knot in my throat. I wasn't too worried about facing the Guardians. As Azami had even said, now was as good a time as any. But I suddenly realized the immensity of it all; I mean, this was _it_. The one secret I'd been keeping from the Guardians for months would finally be revealed. It would change my life. It would change the Guardians' lives, as well. And perhaps it'd go even farther than that. If this scheme really did get Easter the Embryo, then who knew what would happen.

But even realizing the enormity of tonight, I couldn't help but feel excited. Because tonight, I would have the chance to fly like a real dragon, collecting X-eggs and not caring if the Guardians saw. Perhaps what happened in the coming hours would end a lot, but it could also be a beginning to much more. Maybe all of today had even been leading up to this. Maybe it was even Fate that my sudden change in attitude had come just in time for this, though I was inclined to believe that it had more to do with last night's boost of X-energy. But whatever the case, this was_ it_.

In all likelihood, tonight would be my first battle against the Guardians.

* * *

I've got a lot to say, so here goes...

Wow. Eleven reviews on the last chapter! That's the most yet~! Maybe I need to do those 'thank the reviewer' things more often... hehehe... Anyway, thanks to all of you yet again!

Secondly, interesting note on this chapter. Based on several of the reviews, I was going to try and see if I could get Miyuki to confess to Kairi that she liked him. Not in a soppy love-story way, mind you - she would've just let him know, not expecting him to like her back, since just like in the show, Kairi is in love with Amu. However, my plans backfired. Due to Miyuki going into a conversation with Kairi, Azami had her rant, which got Miyuki thinking. And so, rather than a confession of love, we got a loss of innocence in this chapter. And this completely changes what I'd been expecting in the story, since I'd thought that Miyuki would keep on trying to hold on to her friends. Just shows how surprisingly little control I have over the story, despite the fact that I'm the sole person writing it.

So, ironic point of the week for me: I try to start Miyuki in a relationship, and I end with her becoming more distant from _everyone_, especially Kairi. Go figure. And I probably got you all of you MiyukixKairi fans worked up with that title, but I just couldn't help but be deliberately misleading. Besides, I never said what kind of change of heart it would be~

And a couple more notes on the MiyukixKairi relationship. Like what many of my reviewers have said, I too would like to see a MiyukixKairi relationship. Probably because Kairi is my second favorite male character in the show. But, as shown in this chapter, Miyuki makes decisions whether I like them or not. Also, the reason why Azami never told Miyuki to stay true to her feelings on this matter was because it's undragonish to love someone in the first place. Plus, Azami hates Musashi, and so she wasn't going to do anything to encourage a relationship.

Also, I've got a new poll up. Many of you have probably heard that there is going to be a new season of shugo chara. Basically, I want to know if you'll keep up with this fanfic, even if you end up not liking the new series. I encourage everyone to take it, so I know what to expect~.

And, finally, bad news. Looks like I'm going to be extremely busy this year, between school and multiple other activities. And even though my motivation is up from this past summer, it's not at the level it was during the school year last year. So I'm not going to guarantee a chapter every week, though I will definitely try. To make up for this, if you're ever curious as to how my progress is going on the next chapter, go to my profile and I'll have a section labled 'progress', or something else like that. There, I'll keep you informed on how far along I am, since I know that I hate it whenever I don't know when to expect a new chapter in a story I like.


	12. The Stage is Set

On the way over to my house, Yukari had Kairi call the Guardians and tell them that he'd be unable to help that evening, due to family matters (which, ironically, was true - Yukari was his sister, after all). I listened as best I could, which was fairly easy since we were all crammed in a car together. By how out-of-breath Tadase was, it sounded like he had just been helping catch some X-eggs. Tadase was disappointed that Kairi wouldn't help, I could tell, but there was nothing he could really do about it. Tadase then asked how I was doing. With Yukari in the car, Kairi had no choice but to cover for me, so he said that my foot was giving me some trouble and that I'd probably have to take it easy for the night. Yet again, this seemed like a let down for Tadase, and it made me figure that he and the others were really having troubles with all the X-eggs.

When we did get to my house, both Kairi and I went inside to bring the bags of CDs back out to the car. If he wanted to saw anything to me, now would have been the time. But he stayed silent, and so did I. I guess neither of us had anything to really say to the other. The thought of telling him that I liked him crossed my mind - it almost always did when we were alone together - but I decided against it. Something trivial like that hardly seemed to matter right now.

As I dropped my two bags into the back of the car, Yukari gave me my last orders. "Get yourself bandaged up if you need to, but don't take too long. I want you out there collecting X-eggs before the Guardians get to too many of them. A majority of the X-eggs should be in this general area, since the only large amounts of CDs were given away at your school, so you shouldn't have too big of an area to cover."

I nodded and shut the door. Kairi looked at me one last time before getting into the car. It was sort of a sad look, though I think it was more pity for himself or the Guardians than it was for me. Whatever the case, he still said nothing to me, and instead he got silently into the car.

As soon as the car drove off, Azami was flying in circles around my head, clearly excited. "So what are we waiting around here for? Let's get going!"

"Just a minute," I said. "I want to try and clean up these cuts properly first, then we'll go. My foot really is bothering me, and I don't want to be limping around. I'll try and bandage it up, though I kind of doubt the bandage will still be there when we character-transform."

Azami didn't seem satisfied, but she didn't argue, either. So I went inside and up to my bathroom, where I cleaned off my cuts thoroughly. Walking around really hadn't helped my foot, and so it was worse now than it had been back at the school. My sock was literally soaked with blood when I took it off, and I hoped that the inside of my shoe wasn't totally ruined. It struck me as somewhat absurd that I was worrying about my shoes at a time like this, but then again, it was kind of nice to worry about something silly like that.

As I washed the worst of the blood off my foot and down the bathtub drain, Ginger came up and nudged me with her nose. She'd been following me around since I'd got home, like she always did, but until now, she'd been keeping her distance. Maybe this was because she wasn't sure what to think of all the blood, or maybe she could sense that I wasn't the same as I was when I left the house this morning. I turned to look at her, and she meowed at me questioningly. Or, at least, I interpreted it as a question. Now that I thought about it, I realized it really _was_ silly to talk to a cat like it was another human being.

Despite this, I still said back, "Not right now, Ginger. I'll explain everything later. Maybe." She meowed again, and I imagined almost human-like concern in her demeanor. But when I looked her over, she was just an average cat. She was almost exactly the same as she'd been when I got her at Christmas; same tortoiseshell pattern, same amber eyes, and same slim body. Perhaps the only change was that she was slightly bigger, and even that was hardly noticeable. There was nothing special about her, and I knew it would be stupid for me to keep acting like there was.

I finished up cleaning my foot, and wrapped it in some gauze bandage to protect it (since I'd had to use gauze twice since coming to Seiyo, I'd long ago figured it would be a good idea to keep a couple of rolls of it around the house). I cautiously stood up and put my weight on the injured foot. It hurt a bit, but I'd be able to put weight on it when I needed to. I'd probably be flying around most of tonight, so maybe it wouldn't even matter.

"Are you ready now?" Azami asked impatiently.

I fingered the dragon medallion that hung from my neck. It reassured me, and reminded me of my commitment to become a dragon. "As ready as I'll ever be," I said.

"Then let's hurry up and go!" Azami said. "I can feel X-eggs all around us, and they're ours for the taking!"

As always, Azami's enthusiasm cheered me up a bit. I went to my room, thinking that I would bring my X-egg purse, but then decided against it; there would probably be way too many X-eggs for it to hold. I was pretty sure that I had nothing else I could be forgetting, so I turned to Azami. "Well, let's character-transform." Grinning slightly, I added, "I'm ready to start flying."

Azami floated in front of me, and smiled wickedly. I took a deep breath, then said, "My own heart - unlock!" The dark fog enveloped me, and the changes began. My school clothes were replaced by my black dress; my nails lengthened and sharpened; and my horns, wings, and tail all appeared. My necklace was there, like it always ways, and surprisingly enough, my bandage stayed on, though my feet were otherwise bare. Small cuts still covered my body, but that seemed an insignificant detail now that I was part dragon.

And I felt Azami's mind and emotions join with me as we became one. Her energy flooded into me, making me more excited for what we were about to do. Even the X-energy was not making me miserable right now; instead, it filled me with a sort of diabolical anticipation, making me more willing than ever to obtain as many X-eggs as possible.

"Chara-nari: Dark Dragon!"

It really wasn't that much different from any other time I'd transformed. But like everything else that happened today, it felt different. Like a turning point. Even if I'd wanted to go back now, I couldn't let myself.

"Quit standing around thinking and let's go!" Azami said.

Azami's words rang through my head, and my last shreds of hesitancy were blown away like leaves before a storm. My grin widened. "You got it!"

I jumped out through my window and spread my wings, flapping hard to bring myself above the houses and streets of my neighborhood. As the sensation of flight filled me, it felt great to just let go, to lose myself to the combined feelings of freedom and power. As soon as I was high enough, I closed my wings and dove straight back down again, enjoying the adrenaline rush as my body dropped through the air. Just before I hit a roof, my wings sprang open and I pulled up, using my momentum to gain back most of my altitude.

As I leveled out, Azami said, "Looks like we've got company."

"How can we have company when we're in the middle of the air? Unless you mean an airplane, and I know I'd hear one of those if it was too near," I joked.

"Why don't you turn around and look, then?" Azami challenged, though she didn't sound worried. Curious, I swerved tightly until I was facing the way I came. Before I got a chance to really comprehend what was happening, I got hit in the face three times in rapid succession. Though it didn't hurt much, it surprised me, and I just barely managed to keep my balance (which was difficult, since my chara-nari was made more for soaring than it was for hovering). I looked up angrily to see three X-eggs trying to hide behind one another. To be specific, they were trying to hide from me. They must've been following me, and they hadn't been able to stop their momentum when I'd turned around.

In truth, the sight was so comical that I laughed. I'd noticed this sometimes before; X-eggs could be really hilarious when they weren't trying to sew despair among people.

"I think they're attracted to the large amount of X-energy inside us," Azami explained. "Like how all the X-eggs stay close to us at the concerts."

"Well, that makes my job a lot easier," I said. The X-eggs were starting to relax, but I wanted to have some fun with them still. "But I really ought to punish you three for being so clumsy as to dare to run into me." The X-eggs were automatically petrified with fear, but they didn't try to escape. I racked my brain for an apt punishment, but my wings were starting to get sore from the constant flapping, which distracted me. Acting frustrated, I said, "Follow me back down, you brainless eggs."

I angled my body downward and glided to a nearby roof that looked suitable for landing. The eggs followed, sort of like naughty children who didn't dare disobey for fear of getting in bigger trouble. As I touched down on the roof, I was struck by inspiration. As the X-eggs lined up in front of me, I grabbed one of them in my left hand. It struggled to get out, though of course I wasn't about to let it go.

"Hey Azami?" I said.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"Would you mind informing me what eggs do when they're warmed?" I said as I made a black flame appear in my right hand. The egg struggled harder, but my grip stayed firm.

I could feel Azami's cruel pleasure bubbling inside of me. In a mock-educated voice, she answered, "I do believe that eggs hatch when they are kept warm."

"Well, then let's help this little guy to hatch," I said, smiling evilly. I moved the egg directly into my flame and held it there. For about five seconds, it struggled harder than ever. Then it stopped moving, and for about ten seconds I wondered if I'd actually somehow killed the egg. But then I felt the egg shudder, and the two halves burst apart to reveal an X-character in their place. I let go, and it was left floating in the air, smiling wickedly.

"That was a success," I commented as I quickly grabbed the two other eggs in my left hand and heated them like I had the other. They tried to wriggle out of my grasp as they were being heated, but I kept them over the flame until they hatched as well. All three of them seemed quite happy with their new forms, and I watched them with interest for a few moments. With the Guardians, I'd only run into X-charas once or twice, so I wasn't nearly as familiar with them as I was with plain old X-eggs.

After a few moments of watching them, Azami said, "You know, Easter probably won't like us wasting time like this. And I'm pretty sure they specifically want X-eggs, not charas."

"Do you care?" I asked.

"Of course not. Easter can go jump in the ocean for all I care. Do you?"

I shrugged. "Not really. But I do want to get flying again, and getting some more X-eggs sounds like a good way to pass the time." I spoke up to the X-eggs, "Okay, I'm leaving to get more X-eggs, and you guys have the privilege of coming with me. Just make sure you don't lag behind."

Without another word, I ran over to the side of the roof and jumped off, flapping to gain height. I soon found the X-charas flying along beside me, and for a moment I imagined what I could do with an army of these things. But I could make my army later, when I didn't have to worry about the Guardians purifying all of my potential recruits.

"So where's the nearest X-egg?" I asked Azami.

"Turn left a bit," Azami said. "I feel quite a few off in that direction."

I banked to my left and continued off that way. The X-charas followed, though they kept on having little squabbles over who got to fly in front of whom and other such stupid things. It was kind of entertaining, actually, and since they were still keeping up with my pace, I didn't bother breaking up the fights. As I soared over neighborhoods in the directions Azami told me, I didn't even have to go and find the eggs Azami was sensing. As long as we went within a block or two of where the X-eggs were, they came rushing up to me. In ten minutes, I had just about as many eggs. In twenty minutes, I had somewhere closer to thirty or so eggs.

The X-charas made sure that the X-eggs kept up with me, which made them surprisingly helpful to have around. But when I'd gathered about fifty eggs, the group was getting just a tad too big to keep track of. One egg or another almost always seemed to be falling behind, and I started to notice that I was attracting stares from some people on the streets. I was high enough up that they probably wouldn't be able to tell what I or the eggs were, but I nonetheless didn't want to bother with SWAT teams getting called in to deal with an unidentified flying object like myself.

So I remembered what Yukari had said, and I took all the eggs back to the roof of Easter. There, just as she had promised, were several sturdy-looking wooden crates. They were big enough that my fifty eggs just barely filled the bottom couple inches of one of them. I simply told the X-eggs to get in and stay put, and to my delight, they obeyed. Admittedly, having control over X-eggs wasn't a massive accomplishment; they could be dangerous, but they weren't very strong individually. Still, it was a start.

I closed the lid on the crate, then flew back in the direction of Seiyo, since most of the X-eggs were in the many neighborhoods around there. The three X-charas were still with me, since I thought it would be useful to keep them around for a while. I revisited a couple of the areas I'd flown over before, and in the short thirty minutes or so that I'd been gone to Easter, there were already more X-eggs that had popped up. Not quite as many, though; most of the kids who got the CDs had probably listened to it as soon as they got home. These were just the stragglers who had forgotten to until later.

"Kinda weird that we haven't run into the Guardians yet, huh?" I said after we'd been back at it for another ten minutes. I had thirteen or so X-eggs right now, plus the X-charas.

"Not really," Azami said inside my head. "I mean, even if they can sense our group of X-eggs from wherever they are, none of the Guardians are fast enough to catch us."

"True enough," I said as another two X-eggs joined the group. "Then again, we're covering a lot of area. If they're out trying to cleanse X-eggs, don't you think we would have found them? That is, unless you're purposefully keeping us away from them."

"Why would I do that?" she asked. "I'm looking forward to a good fight with them, even if we could beat them with both wings tied behind your back. It must just be bad luck that we haven't found-" Azami broke off suddenly.

"What is it?" I questioned. "Are you getting tired from being character-transformed for so long?" I was getting rather tired myself. I still had the exhilaration from flying, of course, but now it was tempered somewhat by exhaustion. All in all, thought, my tiredness wasn't too bad, since I had the X-energy inside me as well as the energy from the X-eggs to keep me going.

"No, it's not that," Azami replied. "But the Guardians are just a couple blocks ahead."

I slowed down drastically, though I didn't stop. "What!? Are you serious? Right when we were talking about them?"

"Yep. And don't you dare think about avoiding them, Miyuki, or I swear that as soon as this chara-nari is over, I'll beat you with my tail so hard that even my scales will hurt. And scales don't have any nerves, so that's saying something."

"I wasn't going to," I said. "They probably already sense us, anyway. They know what the energy from our chara-nari feels like enough to recognize us. I was going to have to face them sometime or other, anyway." As I thought about what I was about to do, I started feeling guilty, but only for a moment; it was soon choked out by the Darkness and by Azami's own eagerness for battle. Not to mention, it was hard to feel guilty even when I was only chara-changed, not to mention character-transformed.

So I kept flying slowly forward, and soon enough I was greeted by Tadase, Amu, Yaya and Rima all running around a corner. As soon as they saw me, they waved at me, looking tired but otherwise unworried. They must have realized that the eggs I had following me were simply following, not chasing.

As I glided down towards them, I murmured to Azami, "Just play along, all right? I'll fight, but somewhere where we won't have the police called to break it up." Right now, we were in the middle of a friendly-looking neighborhood, and I doubt they'd like having an eccentric cheerleader, a tiny clown, a demonic-looking girl, and a cloud of floating black eggs hanging around.

When I landed, Amu (currently in her Amulet Heart chara-nari) was the first to talk. "Miyuki, are you okay? Kairi said that you needed to stay home."

"No, I'm fine," I answered, glancing down at my foot. "Just needed some bandages."

"Wow, Miyuki-chi, you got a lot of X-eggs!" Yaya said. "We've been trying to get them all day, and Yaya is really tired!"

"Speaking of which, how did you get X-eggs to follow you, Yamada-san? And X-charas?" Tadase asked.

"Er, it's a long story," I said. In truth, I'd kinda forgotten about the X-charas... I should've had them hide while I talked with the Guardians. Oh well. "Do you think we could go somewhere else to talk about it? Amu and Rima might look like an cosplayers, but I think me and the X-eggs stick out a bit too much."

I noticed Rima narrow her eyes, but if she didn't like being called a cosplayer, then that was just too bad for her. "You do have a point, Yamada-san," Tadase admitted, looking from me to the eggs and then back to me. "Where can we go?"

"Yaya knows, Yaya knows!" Yaya shouted, jumping up and down enthusiastically. "There's a park a couple blocks away from here. Let's go!"

_Nothing good ever comes from me going to parks..._ I thought, though somewhat amused. "All right, I'll meet you guys there," I said, just before jumping and flying into the air. The X-eggs and X-charas followed me, and as we flew the short three blocks to the park, I said to them, "Okay, everybody had better do exactly as I say. If I say attack, you attack, and if I say stay put, you stay put. Got it?"

The fifteen X-eggs all chorused with "Useless!," which I took as an affirmative, while the X-charas actually said "Yes!"

"Good," I said.

When we arrived at the park (which conveniently had a lot of trees and not a lot of paths, which meant that there was less of a chance of people seeing us), I flew down and landed (somewhat clumsily) on a branch in the most deserted section of the park I could find. It was also still February, which meant that the trees were still bare and not many people would want to take a stroll through the park. As I sat on my branch, the X-eggs all clustered around me, and the X-charas actually came and sat on my shoulders. I thought about shooing them off, but decided that it would actually be kind of interesting to see how the Guardians would react.

As I sat on my branch and waited, it occurred to me that now I wasn't feeling at all guilty about what I was going to do. On the contrary, I was actually looking forward to fighting with them. I got the feeling that perhaps part of the reason for this was that Azami and the Darkness were more in control of my emotions than I was. But if that really was the case, I couldn't exactly bring myself feel outraged about it, so I just let it go. Deep down inside of me, I got the feeling that perhaps I truly was looking forward to this, and that I was just using Azami and the Darkness as an excuse.

Whatever the reasoning behind it, it was at least going to make this easier to do, which I was grateful for. When we saw the Guardians walking towards us through the trees, Azami asked, "Are you ready, Miyuki?"

I reached up to my dragon pendant once again and fingered the clear now red-colored gem. "As I said before, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

Sorry, relatively short chapter, I know. Truth is, this chapter, last chapter, and the last chapter were all originally supposed to be one... but I write too much, and so that didn't happen. Anyway, this chapter was getting too big (counting this part, it was over 7,000 words and not very close to ending), so I split it into this part and next chapter. Hopefully, since I already have over 3,000 words of the next chapter written, it'll come out sometime soon. I'm sorry that I'm delaying the action another chapter... I wouldn't if not for that whole length issue. But just so you have something to look forward to, I seriously think this next chapter might be the best yet~! It is in my opinion, at least.

Thanks to Black Sun Angel and to InnerFan, the newest reviewers of this story~! And, as I say time and time again, thanks to everyone else who reviews, and even thanks to those of you who just read it~.


	13. Friend Turned Enemy

The Guardians came up almost to the base of the tree, so that they were about ten feet away from me, not counting the extra twenty or so feet I had from being up in the air. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, waiting for me to come down. But I didn't budge.

"Uh, Yamada-san, do you think we could talk to you down here?" Tadase said in an almost-yell. "It will be kind of hard for us to talk with you up there."

Whether it was because of the chara-nari or because I was just crueler than I realized, I decided to mess with them. "But I like it up here."

Tadase was practically speechless. Amu, seeing his predicament but not knowing how to react to me, said, "Well, could you somehow get the X-eggs and X-charas away from you so that I can purify them?"

"Nope," I said plainly.

Now it was Amu's turn to be speechless, and Yaya's turn to talk. "Miyuki-chi! What are you talking about!" She stomped her feet a couple of times. "I'm the only one who gets to be unreasonable!"

This made me smile. "Yeah, you're right. But I'm staying up here anyway."

"No! That is not what a friend should say!" Eru shouted as she darted up to lecture me. Eru always hung around Amu nowadays, but the angel bugged both me and Azami so much that we normally did our best to ignore her. "You should say, 'of course, I'll do whatever I can to help, my dearest friends!,' and then leap down to greet them!"

"Oh, but that wouldn't be very smart on my part," I explained to Eru. I looked down at the Guardians and their charas, and I could see that they were all thoroughly confused right now. Except for Rima, who was glaring at me like she always did. I would take great pleasure in beating her to a pulp, but that part would come in just a minute. "Anyway, Eru, I have a very important task for you. I've got to tell you a super big secret, and you've got to go down and tell Amu and the others. Okay?"

Just as I'd expected, Eru suddenly seemed to inflate with pride. She saluted me and said, "Roger! What is it I need to tell them?"

I leaned forward a bit a cupped my hands around my mouth. She leaned in so she could hear me as I whispered, "I actually work for Easter."

For a moment, Eru just stood there with a sort of glazed look on her face. Then, she suddenly zoomed downwards and shouted out to the Guardians, "She says she works for Easter!"

It took them each a couple seconds to fully comprehend it. Actually, I think Rima was expecting it, since she only glared at me harder. Yaya looked back and forth from Eru to me, her expression slowly changing to disbelief. Tadase looked confused and hurt for a moment, but then his face changed to a look of righteous anger. Exactly like the look he had whenever he talked about Ikuto. Which probably meant I was person number two on his list of people he could never forgive. The charas were all similarly shocked.

I could have brushed off all of that, but it was Amu's expression that really got to me. The look in her eyes told me how betrayed and how hurt she felt. I could feel the guilt beginning to gnaw at me, despite the fact that my chara-nari was trying to cover up any not dragonish feelings.

"So Fujisaki-san was right..." Tadase muttered to himself as he glared at me. But my sharp dragon-hearing picked it up.

"What? Nadeshiko knew?" I asked incredulously. I knew she had been perceptive, but I never would have guessed that she had even the slightest idea of the truth.

Tadase nodded, never taking his eyes off of me. "She had her suspicions, and I guess I should have listened to her." He paused for a moment, then continued, "You're just as bad as Ikuto. No, I take that back - you might be even worse than him. So all this time, what have you really been doing when you said you were getting X-eggs at Utau's concerts? And was it you that gave out the CDs that are responsible for all the X-eggs today?"

"Actually, I'm not exactly responsible for the CDs," I said. At this point, I wasn't trying to taunt the Guardians for not figuring all this out earlier; I just wanted to let them know what really had been going on. "But the eggs I brought back from the concert to be purified made up only a fraction of the ones that were created."

"And you've probably been reporting back to Easter about the Guardians, haven't you?" Tadase asked, his voice steady.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Miyuki-chi..." Yaya said, trailing off.

Rima, still glaring at me, said, "How could you do this to your friends?"

I practically snarled. "To be frank with you, Rima, we both know that we hate each other," I snapped at her. "I suggest you don't try to lecture me, 'cause it won't take much to convince me come down there and show you just who's the best out of the two of us." I paused for a moment, calmed myself down, then turned back to the others. "I can't really say I'm sorry, but... I didn't exactly want it to turn out this way, either."

"A commoner like you cannot betray your king like this!" Kiseki suddenly shouted out from Tadase's side. "How dare you do this!?"

"Put a lid on it, kiddy-king!" Azami said, her voice ringing out from somewhere inside me. "We're anything but common, and we don't take orders from some kid pretending to be king!" This comment stung both Kiseki and Tadase, both of whom flinched back.

"No!" Amu suddenly shouted out, and all eyes turned to her. "I know you're not like this, Miyuki! We've been friends for months now, and I know that that wasn't a lie, even if everything else was! This can't be the real you!"

For a moment, I imagined that if my life was part of a children's story book, this would be the part where I had a change of heart and joined back up with the good guys. But this wasn't a story. This was real life. I've found out that stuff like magic and transformations can happen in real life, but I guess the same thing doesn't transfer over to how people act. Maybe that's the real fantasy in stories... In real life, there's hardly ever a happy ending.

"You're right, I guess, on the friend part" I admitted. "I really liked being with you. But that's not who I am anymore. If I want to be a real dragon, I can never be that kind of person again."

"So how long has it been," asked Tadase in a slow, measured voice, "Since you joined Easter?"

_And that's the biggest question he could ask,_ I thought. "For almost as long as I've know all of you. I think I must have gone to see Easter in less than a week after Azami hatched."

Everyone - even Rima - was shocked at this. But Amu still couldn't believe that I was as evil as I must have seemed to everyone else. "Miyuki, if this is my fault, I'm sorry!" Amu said. "I've been worrying too much about Dia, and maybe I haven't been paying enough attention to everyone who's still around me... because I know you wouldn't have done this just a couple months ago! If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten Ran, Miki, and Su back! Even if you aided in their kidnapping somehow, you realized your mistake and you helped me, even though we all knew that you were afraid of Nikaido!"

"Hinamori-san, you can't blame Miyuki's actions on yourself," Tadase said.

Amu's eyes were flooded with tears by now, and she shook her head. "No - Miyuki, you helped me more than anyone ever has, and then I just ignored everyone's troubles but my own. I'm sorry. But more than that... I want to help you! I know you're not a bad person! Just let me help you remember who you were!"

As her speech ended, the Humpty Lock began to glow. She temporarily stopped crying as the light stretched out around her, engulfing both Tadase and Yaya. Wherever the light hit me, it burned, though I was far enough away that it was just a little bit past being uncomfortable. So I watched in wonder as I heard Tadase call out, "My own heart - unlock!" and as Yaya said, "Yaya's own heart - unlock!" After a couple minutes, the light flashed brighter than ever, and then it died down, revealing the two new character transformations.

"Chara-nari: Dear Baby!" This was Yaya, of course. She was dressed in a poofy pink outfit, complete with big pink slipper things, two pink bunny ears, an bib, and two bright red bows. All in all, it was probably one of the least threatening things I'd ever seen.

Tadase, on the other hand, was different. "Chara-nari: Platinum Royal!" he shouted as the light dissipated. Now, he was dressed in a frilly, cream colored king's costume with a gold crown on his head. This in itself wasn't too threatening, but he had a decent-size scepter in one hand, and if his regular chara-change was anything to go by, then this could probably do some damage.

Yaya was ecstatic. "Yay! Yaya finally character transformed! And this outfit is so cute!"

Tadase just sort of looked himself over, so surprised that he even forgot about me momentarily. When he did finally come back to the matter at hand, he stared at me with new confidence. "Yamada Miyuki, I will never forgive you," he said, "But you do have this chance to try and correct what you have done. Hand over the X-eggs so that we can purify them."

I shook my head. "Sorry, but Easter won't be too happy if I do that. Plus, I don't give in quite that easily."

"It's four against one now," Rima said quietly, her eyes still blazing with hatred. "If you don't give them up, we can take them."

I smirked. "I think you're forgetting something. I've got sixteen X-eggs and three X-charas on my side, after all. Not like I need them; I'm not quite as easily defeated as you seem to think. I don't particularly want to fight anyone - except maybe you, Rima - but I will if I have to."

"And she'll enjoy it, too!" Azami piped up. Which was true, since I was sure Azami would enjoy it, and we were sharing feelings at the moment.

"Stop it, Miyuki. I'm sure you're not like this," Amu said, no longer crying. "I really meant it when I said I would help you. You can come back to us, and we can all fight Easter together. Do you truly want to be turning kids' hearts into those?" She pointed at the X-eggs and X-charas around me.

Hardly thinking about it, I found myself saying, "Are you sure you really know me that well, Amu? You seem to think that I'm being forced to do this. Admittedly, I am to some extent. But are you sure that this isn't what I really am? I am my would-be self right now, so how could I do anything contrary to my true self? Are you sure that I don't like what Easter is doing? Do you even realize that I don't mind corrupting other people's dreams?" I'm not sure why I said all of this - probably more of Azami's influence - and yet I said it all with such certainty that I knew it wasn't a lie to make myself sound tough. Even Amu - who always looked for the best in everyone - began to doubt me. Just a moment ago, she'd been certain of my goodness; now I could tell that she didn't know what to think.

"If that's the way it is, then we'll take the eggs back by force," Tadase said as he pointed his scepter at me. "Holy Crown!" A massive wall of golden energy shot out towards me, but I took off from my branch and evaded the attack. Most of the X-eggs got out of the way, too, though a couple were caught by the energy and thrown backwards. They fell to the ground, somewhat dazed but otherwise unharmed.

"How are you supposed to hit me when I'm quicker than you?" I asked as I circled about thirty feet above the Guardians, with the rest of the X-eggs floating a little ways above me. "How are you supposed to catch me when I can fly? And how can you beat me when I'm more powerful than you?"

Amu crouched down, then jumped up towards me, apparently in an attempt to bring me back down to the ground. I easily dodged and, since Amu couldn't do anything to dodge, I decided to give them a little test of my power.

"Blazing Rain!" I said, sending my barrage of dark fire towards Amu, who was falling back towards the ground. Still, I didn't want to hurt her, so I made sure that all of the flames went around her. She landed on her feet, a little shocked but otherwise unharmed.

"I wouldn't suggest that again," I said as I went back to circling above the Guardians. "You may be able to jump, Amu, but it's not the same as flight. And I'm sure you realize already that I missed on purpose."

Suddenly, Rima called out, "Juggling Party!" I suddenly found seven or eight juggling pins, zooming towards me at top speed. My first instinct was to dodge, and so I veered away and flew as fast as I could. It was a close call; the juggling pins were fast, and it took me a couple seconds to get up to full speed. When I did reach my top speed, they were only a couple meters behind me. But despite the small distance between us, they couldn't catch up. There was no doubt about it; when it comes to flight, dragons rule the skies.

I soon heard the pins break off and zoom back the way they came from, and so I also stopped and turned around. I hovered for a couple moments, letting myself rest, though I hardly needed to take a break, thanks to the X-energy. I guessed that I'd made my way out of Rima's eyesight, which would have been why the pins had stopped. Either that, or she knew that she wouldn't catch me. I could still see the Guardians from where I was; my dragon eyesight made it easy, and the bare trees only partially obstructed my view. But I was far enough away that perhaps the regular human eyes of the Guardians couldn't do the same.

As I continued to hover as best I could, I noticed that the X-eggs and X-charas were still with me, despite the chase. "Hey Azami?" I said.

"What?" she asked.

"What if we just took the X-eggs back to Easter now?" I suggested. "We don't really need to waste our time on the Guardians."

"Are you joking?" Azami asked. "We haven't had a fight in ages. Even if you still like them, isn't there part of you that wants to have a real battle?"

"Well... yeah, I suppose so." I said. In fact, there was a part of me that really wanted to fight. It just felt so wrong to do so after being a friend to the Guardians for all this time.

"Then let's hurry up, before the Guardians get tired of waiting and leave," Azami said. Seeing that there was no way I could argue with Azami, I flew back towards the Guardians. They had stayed more or less in one place while I'd been gone, though it looked like they'd perhaps done some talking with each other. Maybe they'd been trying to plan a strategy - not like it'd help against me.

I slowed to a stop, then hovered in place as I shouted down, "You guys are underestimating me, if you think some juggling pins can take me down."

"Then let Yaya try out her new attack!" Yaya said enthusiastically. "Go, go, little duckies!" A bunch of yellow rubber ducks appeared and came flying towards me. I wasn't even going to waste my energy on this; I simply nodded to the X-charas. They got my drift and, in unison, they sent out a pulse of X-energy towards the ducks. I actually laughed a little bit as the ducks turned tail and ran, forcing Tadase to make a shield to keep the attack from hitting himself, Yaya, Amu, and Rima.

As the Guardians tried to regroup, I taunted, "Have you even thought what you'll do if you guys actually have the guts to knock me out? Sure, you'd take this bunch of eggs back and stop me for today. But what then?"

Amu, Yaya, and Rima hesitated, obviously unprepared for such a question. But Tadase answered with certainty, "Then nothing. We are not like you, and so there's nothing we could do to stop you indefinitely. But every time we need to, we'll fight you again."

"A very fine speech, kiddy king," a familiar voice said from somewhere down below. The Guardians and I turned to look, and there, standing on one of the bare tree branches, was Ikuto in his chara-nari. None of us had heard or seen him coming. To give my wings a rest, I flew down and sat on a nearby branch. As I did so, I watched the reactions of the Guardians. Yaya and Rima both went more on-guard; Amu looked more surprised than anything; and Tadase's eyes filled with even more hatred.

"So now both traitors have revealed themselves," Tadase said. "What are you doing here, you thieving cat?"

"Just thought I'd come check out the show," Ikuto replied cooly. Turning to me, he asked, "And why are you messing around here? I thought Easter wanted you to get back with those eggs."

"I've got orders to stop the Guardians, too," I said. "Plus, Azami really wants to fight. But why do you care?"

Ikuto shrugged, but before he could answer, I saw a flash of light out of the corner of my eye. I quickly leaped off my branch and soared up higher, dodging the incoming 'Holy Crown' attack. Ikuto must have seen it, too, because when I looked back, he was on a different branch a good distance away. "I can see I'm not wanted here," said Ikuto with a smirk. "I'll let all of you play amongst yourselves. Don't play too rough." Though he said it mockingly, he gave me a pointed look as he finished. And it seemed to me like he truly meant what he was saying; he really didn't want me to hurt the Guardians.

Azami must have picked up on his real meaning, too, because she grumbled, "What's the world coming to when you can't even trust a black cat to be cruel?"

I inwardly agreed, but didn't comment as I watched Ikuto jumping from branch to branch until he disappeared from sight. Then, I turned back to the Guardians. "Well, this is your last chance. Give up and go home, or I'll have to do as Easter ordered and beat you guys. Your choice."

Tadase almost replied, but Amu stepped up, cutting him off. She seemed more resolute now. "Miyuki, I will help you see who you really are. Even if..." Amu hesitated and looked down at the ground for a moment. Then, with new determination, she met my gaze. "Even if it means I have to defeat you to make you see the truth!"

The Humpty Lock began to glow again, but this time it was only Amu who got caught up in the glow. Much of the light gathered around her feet, and then suddenly the light dissipated, revealing a pair of pink rollerblades in place of her usual sneakers. Everyone looked more or less bewildered, with Amu even more so than the rest. From within Amu, I heard Ran call out, "Yay, yay! Heart Speeders! Let's do it Amu-chan!"

"Huh? Do what? What's going-" Amu was cut off as the rollerblades began to glow faintly, and soon she zoomed forward. And, even more incredible than that, as soon as she reached an obstacle, she zoomed straight _upward_, leaving a glittering pink stream following her rollerblades. Once she was almost level with me, she managed to stop herself. And there she stayed, standing in midair as if it were no less solid than the ground.

_Well, this could be a minor problem,_ I thought to myself. _Shouldn't be too bad, but still... those rollerblades are fast._

Amu seemed to recover her wits, and she turned to face me. She seemed to take a moment to steel herself, and then she zoomed towards me. In her hand, I saw more pink energy gathering as her Heart Rod started to form. That was one thing I'd need to avoid - even if she didn't hit me directly with it, she could probably throw it fast enough for it to get in my way and cut off my flight path. I'd seen it happen plenty enough times with X-eggs.

Unlike with the juggling pins, I didn't run this time. What could I say? Azami really was right; even though I didn't particularly want to hurt Amu, I could feel the lust for battle rising up inside me. Part of it was Azami's, but not all of it; in fact, a lot of it was my own. I really did want to fight. I wanted to use my power, and to show off my strength. And so, I smothered what loyalty I had left and let the dark flames rise around my hands. Amu came at me fast, and right when she pulled back her hand to throw the Heart Rod at me, I let loose my attack.

"Blazing Rain!" I shouted, flinging the flames towards her. She tried to stop as she spun her Heart Rod in front of her, doing her best to block the attack. But between my power and the size of the attack, it wasn't enough. Each of the flames exploded slightly on impact, and Amu was knocked back by the force of it. I saw her Heart Rod fall to the ground as Amu flew backwards, but I was almost immediately hit by a barrage of juggling pins. They hit my legs, my torso, my arms, my head, my wings... and Rima definitely was not holding back. Those things _hurt_. I fell a ways closer to the ground before I managed to catch the air and start flying again. I sensed the pins above me, returning for a second attack, so I looked upwards and sent more of my Blazing Rain towards them. They caught on fire and fell, useless, to the ground.

But as I did this, Tadase had not been idle. I barely dodged as the golden light from his Holy Crown attack shot up towards me. I turned my attention to those three Guardians on the ground - Yaya, Rima, and Tadase - and I glared. Without a second thought, I caused the flames on my hands to begin smoking, and I quickly sent the dense cloud towards the Guardians. "Hopeless Haze!" I shouted as the smoke engulfed them. Though the haze was as dark as pitch, my dragon eyesight could easily observe them coughing and sputtering inside the cloud.

Still enraged, I flew down into the cloud and landed. The smoke did nothing to bother me; in fact, the almost citrus-like scent merely filled me with more energy. I dealt with Yaya first. Since she really hadn't done anything, I simply pushed her down. There was no need for me to use even a fraction of my strength against her. Then I ran over to Tadase, and with vengeful vigor, I dug my nails into his arm. I made sure not to go too deep as to permanently injure him, but by no means was I gentle. He cried out in pain and struggled for a couple of moments, though he was already weakened from the smoke. Then he seemed to calm down as his eyes glazed over with hopelessness. His transformation faded, and as I let go, Kiseki started shouting blindly into the smoke at Tadase. But my poison had its effect; no matter how much Kiseki called out, Tadase did not reply. He simply lay on the ground, coughing weakly.

And Rima... man, did I let her have it. Those juggling pins were going to leave me bruised and sore for at least the next week. Without the X-energy, I'd probably have a decent concussion right about now. So I opened my wings, got above the cloud for a moment, then dove back in at that brat of a Queen. Right before I got to her, I turned my body and adjusted my wings, putting all of my momentum into my tail. I whipped it at her, and it hit with a satisfying _whack!. _She went flying at least ten yards before she hit the ground. The impact was enough to make her chara-nari end, and both Rima and Kusukusu were left on the ground. Neither of them were in any condition to fight again today, even if they could character transform again.

Feeling immensely satisfied, I ordered the smoke to clear. Now everyone could see what had happened. Or, more specifically, Yaya could. And so could Amu, who I now noticed standing at the edge of where my smoke had been. Amu, though standing firmly, had definitely seen better days; her Amulet Heart outfit was charred from the fire, and her expression as she looked around was one of utmost disbelief. Now that the smoke was gone, both she and Yaya could see Tadase sitting on the ground, not paying any attention as Kiseki tried to make him snap out of it. And they could see Rima, lying on the ground a ways a way, covered with dirt and apparently unconscious.

And throughout all this, the X-eggs continued to hover around me, staying out of my way, yet always present. And I imagined how Amu must see me right now. I probably looked like some kind of demon, standing triumphantly with X-eggs above me. I mean, I had red eyes, horns, wings, a tail - and if that wasn't enough, I'd utterly defeated two of the people who I'd claimed to be friends with.

After taking in the scene, Amu turned to face me. She had her Heart Rod in one hand, but she didn't look like she was going to fight. She looked dejected and hurt, no longer the strong girl who could fight X-eggs with ease. At least for now, she had no more fighting spirit left.

I took this as my cue to go. "Well... I'm sorry, Amu. But this is how it is." I took off, not looking back as I flapped away.

As I flew towards Easter with the X-eggs and X-charas following me, I just wanted to fly in silence. Admittedly, I still had adrenaline running through me from the fight, but even that couldn't overcome the gravity of what I'd done. I wasn't necessarily feeling too guilty about it, but still... I doubted I'd ever hurt someone like that before. Maybe the dragon part of me didn't have a problem with it, but what little humanity I had left was feeling troubled.

Of course, Azami wouldn't let me sulk. She went on and on about how awesome the battle was, recounting every bit play-by-play and word-by-word. I ignored her for the most part. A couple more X-eggs joined me on the way, but it seemed like most of the eggs from today had already been either collected by me or purified by the Guardians.

When we got to the roof of Easter, I was surprised to see Yukari there. She was apparently counting the X-eggs in the crate. Kairi was with her, and he watched me solemnly as I flew in. When I landed, Yukari heard and turned to me.

"Nice job, Miyuki," Yukari said. "But what happened to you? You look like you got hit by a car."

I looked down at my arms, and saw noticeable bruises forming where Rima's attack had hit me. I shrugged. "I did what you said. I fought with the Guardians. And I won, despite the looks of it."

Yukari smiled. "Good. I think, with that batch, that we've got enough eggs for the day. Would you like me to drive you home? We want you rested for more collecting tomorrow, after all."

I shook my head. "I'll fly."

Once we got the rest of the X-eggs into the crate, I flew back home. Azami was still enthusiastic about today, and even once we got home and we let the chara-nari go, she continued on. Ginger, to my surprise, actually listened for a while, though once Azami started repeating herself, my cat came back over to comfort me. But I was already half asleep by then, and even though it wasn't even eight 'o clock yet, I saw no reason to stay up. I was tired, sore, and - now that the chara-nari was over - emotionally exhausted. I set my alarm out of habit, then went to sleep, wondering what more tomorrow could possibly bring.

* * *

Sorry that I left you at a cliffy for so long there. But I've just been so busy the past two weeks.... I missed three days of school the week before last, and the all the make-up work and tests were killer. I quite literally had no time to write until yesterday.

But anyway, I loved this chapter~. My favorite so far, I think. Hope you liked it, too, despite the wait. I'm hoping that, now that I have my make-up work done, I'll have more time to write, so *hopefully* I might be able to get the next chapter out a bit sooner.

So.... Thanks for reading! And please review~!


	14. Back at School

When I woke up the next morning, I thought groggily about whether I wanted to go to school or not. On one hand, it would mean facing the Guardians. Which would not only be awkward and painful for all of us, but it would also attract the attention of the whole school (the Guardians weren't going to act like nothing had happened, after all). Plus, without even getting out of bed, I could tell I was sore. I wasn't even sure if I would be _able_ to get out of bed. Which really made me wish I'd hit Rima harder yesterday, even though that single blow from my tail had probably left its mark well enough.

Then again, I was determined to be a dragon now. And if I put Azami in my shoes, I knew she wouldn't show any signs of weakness. That would include staying home due to soreness, or trying to hide from Amu and the others. Plus, it wasn't like they were going to attack me at school, with all the other kids around. At most, they'd probably just shun me. That couldn't be too bad. Could it?

So I made my decision and got out of bed, waking Azami up in the process. "Hm? Are we going to school, then?" she asked, peeping out of her egg.

"Yeah," I said with a slight groan as I tried to stretch out my bruised body. "Should be interesting, huh?"

Azami came the rest of the way out of her egg and smiled a little bit. "I guess so. Are you planning on confronting the Guardians at all, or just avoiding them completely?"

"I don't see what I'd accomplish by confronting them. Unless I told them exactly why Easter can make me obey them, which I'm not planning on doing. So I'll go with avoiding them as best I can."

I sluggishly got ready to go (slowed down further because I had to do my best to disguise the bruises on my face and legs with make up, which wouldn't be covered by my uniform). Azami, to entertain herself, started talking about yesterday's battle again. She had calmed down a bit, though, so now she was simply reviewing the battle, rather than exclaiming about every point of awesomeness on our part. I let her ramble; it distracted me from thinking about school. It's not so much that I thought school was going to be all that horrible. But it didn't do me any good to dwell on it, either.

As I put on my uniform, I left off my cape. My Guardian cape, which I almost always wore to school. I'd always liked the symbol of authority. But I wasn't a Guardian anymore. And I didn't see any reason to pretend that I was.

Despite my slow pace getting ready, there was still ten minutes to the start of school as I arrived at Seiyo. And the first person I saw as I walked in the school doors was none other than Tadase. I quickly took in the scene; he was sitting at a table, which had a big sign that said "CD turn in station" on the front side of it. For a moment, I just stood in the doorway, with Tadase too distracted by other students to notice. But then there was a short break in kids turning in CDs, and he looked up and saw me. And he glared with all the venom he could muster.

His gaze seemed to break me out of a trance. I moved forward and walked right past him, not bothering to meet his stare again. But our reactions to each other - his glare and my effort to ignore him - were both well noted by other kids nearby in the hallway. Not to mention, my lack of cape was probably exceedingly noticeable. Already I could hear the whispers starting, spreading rumors of who-knows-what. But other than a slight blush that I couldn't prevent, no matter how hard I tried, I kept walking through the halls as if nothing had happened. If I got to my classroom, then I probably wouldn't have to deal with the Guardians; after all, none of them were in my class.

But to my annoyance, Tadase wasn't the only one running a CD turn-in station. As I reached the top of the stairs to get off at my floor, I found myself face to face with Rima. She was sitting behind yet another table, with bags around her full of the CDs she had collected. She looked none the worse from our battle yesterday, though I suspected she was acting stronger than she felt at the moment. I glared at her, and she glared back. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Azami joining in with a death-glare directed towards Rima. Kusukusu seemed to be the only one who didn't completely hate anyone. She simply hovered near Rima, looking upset about the whole situation.

Now me glaring at Rima and Rima glaring back was nothing new, so no one around us really took note of it. What they _did _notice was my lack of cape, as well as the somewhat less-than-hidden bruises on my face and legs. Once again, the rumors started. I turned away from Rima and went on to my class, ignoring the murmuring people around me. I did take a little bit of notice of my surroundings as I walked, and it hit me that not everyone was joining in on the rumors. Some were standing around, barely at the outskirts of their respective groups, doing nothing but staring dejectedly into space.

_The fruits of my labor_, I thought sarcastically, for once feeling guilty about taking X-eggs. I mean, these were people that I saw everyday, usually full of energy. But I didn't know any of them well, and it was probably their fault that they weren't strong enough to take care of their own dreams. With this in mind, I did my best to shake off the discomfort of my guilt.

I made it to my classroom and sat down in my desk, ignoring the kids around me. The rumors hadn't spread into here yet, though they started up as soon as people noticed my lack of cape. They talked in whispers, but I still heard bits and pieces.

"Why isn't Yamada-san wearing her cape?"

"It's probably just dirty or something."

"But she _always _wears it."

"Look at this text! My friend says that Hotori-kun actually _glared _at Miyuki!"

"Do you think maybe she got kicked out of the Guardians?"

"What could she have done to deserve that?"

"I dunno, but I've never heard of Tadase ever getting really mad at _anyone_. Whatever she did, it must be bad."

The group that was talking cast a few furtive glances over towards me, then looked away awkwardly as they realized that I was watching them. But it didn't discourage them; they simply continued their gossip more quietly, so as not to be overheard. I sighed and laid my head down on my desk, in the crook of one of my arms. Maybe I should've just stayed home today... Normally gossip didn't bother me, but this had a ring of truth to it.

"Sorta funny how humans will talk without even bothering to see who's listening," Azami commented into my ear.

"Yeah, I guess," I answered, though I kept my eyes closed and my head down. I stayed like that for a few minutes, trying to figure out my feelings. There was a little bit of guilt, and some sadness as well, though neither of them weighed too heavily in my mind. I realized that, though I wasn't happy to any great extent, I was feeling a huge sense of relief. The secret was out now, and I had no more reason to hide who I truly was from the Guardians.

But with that no longer lingering at the back of my thoughts, a new underlying worry had germinated: Easter. I suddenly seemed to fully comprehend just how much of a hold they had on me. They could order me to do just about anything, and I would have no choice but to obey. I didn't worry so much about what they would make me do; in fact, I could think of very little that I'd actually be opposed to doing. I didn't exactly have any moral scruples to consider anymore, especially since I'd finally parted ways with the Guardians. What _did_ concern me was the whole concept of me practically being a slave to Easter's whims. And who knew how long they would keep their power over me... maybe for months... or years... or my life...

Someone poked me in the shoulder, and I brought myself back to the present. I looked up to see Mai, looking at me with concern.

"Oh, hi Mai," I said with a faint smile.

Mai frowned a little bit. "What's going on? People have been coming up to me since I walked in the doors today, asking me what happened between you and the Guardians. _Did _something happen?" She asked this in her quiet way, which made her seem not at all nosy. Just worried. Which made me feel worse about not being able to tell her the truth.

"I guess you could say that," I replied.

"Will you tell me what happened? I'm not sure what rumors are true and which aren't, but it hardly seems fair if the Guardians are suddenly shunning you. And how did you get so bruised?" she asked.

My sad little smile grew ever so slightly. "I can't tell you much, but I will say this; if we're talking in terms of what is fair and what isn't, then I'm getting off easy."

Mai looked like she was about to protest, but then the bell rang. She gave me one last worried look, and then sat down in her seat.

"I wish she'd just mind her own business," Azami said, annoyed.

I shrugged, and thought, _I know I'm supposed to be a dragon, but... I'm still kinda glad that there's someone who still worries about me. _

* * *

When the bell rang for us to leave for lunch, it dawned on me that I wasn't going to have anywhere to sit. I _always _sat with the Guardians, but that was out of the question now.

Apparently, this occurred to Mai as well. "You're welcome to sit with me at lunch," she offered. "My table normally has one or two open seats, anyway. And I think you know some of the people I sit with. Like Chieko - she's been in our class both semesters, and I think you've helped her with English a couple of times before. And Kasumi is in our class, too."

I smiled gratefully. "Yeah, that'd be great."

Soon after I entered the lunch room, I noticed the Guardians were already sitting at their table. They looked at me for a few moments before going back to their meal. Tadase and Rima both glared at me, Kairi remained impassive, Yaya looked kind of sad and angry and pouty all at once, and Amu looked as hurt as ever. None of them looked at me long, but their reaction to me did not go unnoticed by others in the lunchroom, many of whom had been waiting to see what the Guardians and I would do at lunch. I did my best to pretend that nothing had happened.

Mai and I went through the lunch line together, and I followed her to where she sat everyday at lunch. Sitting at the table were the two girls she had mentioned, plus one who had been in my class last semester (her name was Naoko, if I remembered correctly), and one other girl who I didn't think had ever been in my class. When I sat down with Mai, the other girls were visibly surprised to have me sit with them. But, to their credit, they didn't bother asking what was going on. Instead, Chieko continued a very enthusiastic description of a new anime episode that had aired the night before.

Throughout lunch, no one seemed to expect me to join the conversation, though they left it open enough that I could if I had something to say. I didn't say much, but I did comment every now and then. It felt kind of strange to be talking about normal, every day things with anyone other than Mai. Azami was bored immediately, and while I didn't necessarily enjoy lunch (I was extremely conscious of all the people in the lunchroom who kept turning to look at me), being with Mai made it tolerable. And not once did anyone at the table ask me what had happened; there seemed to be an unrecognized consensus among them that it was my business.

When lunch ended and we all went back to class, I made sure to go out of my way so as not to run into the Guardians. And for the rest of class, I actually tried to pay attention to the lesson. But when I failed at that (no mater how you look at it, my teacher takes boring to an extreme level), I wondered what would happen tonight. I had heard that more CDs had showed up overnight, and I doubted that everyone would turn in their CDs to the Guardians. Nor could the Guardians do anything about any CDs that people outside of the school had. So I'd have more X-eggs to collect, which in turn meant that the Guardians might try to purify them... And as fun as the battle had been, I didn't exactly feel like beating the Guardians two days in a row. I decided that, unless I was told differently, that I would skip any battle with the Guardians if I could.

When the last bell of the day rang, I just wanted to get out of the school as quickly as possible, to avoid running into the Guardians. But Mai wouldn't let me leave. In the past, whenever I wouldn't tell her something, she would normally back off about it. But this time, she was being adamant.

"Miyuki, I really wish you'd tell me what's going on," she said, keeping her voice low so that no one around us would listen in. "The Guardians can't just kick you out, can they?"

I shrugged. "Well, I'm not officially kicked out. But as I said earlier, I deserve it."

"I can't believe that you deserve to be treated so coldly by the Guardians," Mai said. "It's just not right. And there are so many rumors going around that I don't like hearing... A lot of the people in the school think that you must've done something horrible, since they can't see Tadase or Amu or Rima as ever being wrong."

I grinned. "What about Yaya?"

"Well, her not so much," Mai admitted. "But back to the point. You shouldn't have to put up with people talking about you when they don't even know what happened."

"Mai is being awfully talkative today, isn't she?" Azami commented from my shoulder. Though I couldn't respond, I knew that she was right. Mai must really be worked up about this. Which was sort of ironic, considering the fact that I was sort of facing the situation stoically.

"Let them talk about me if they want, Mai," I said. "I really don't mind, and they'll tire of it eventually."

Mai scowled slightly. "But their not even thinking for themselves. They're just blindly following the Guardians. It's so... frustrating. I know that whatever you've done, it surely doesn't deserve this."

I almost laughed aloud at this, but I managed to hold it back. Azami, on the other hand, burst out laughing. "Mai, I think you trust me a bit too much. Which isn't a bad thing," I said. "It's just that... haven't you ever wondered why I won't tell you what's going on? What if it's because I'm doing something bad that I can't tell you about?"

"Well, you're my friend, Miyuki," Mai said, getting quieter. "I'd probably trust you even if that was the case. Which I don't think it is."

"Gooey mushy blah!" Azami said, disgusted. And while I knew that the dragon part of me ought to hate this sort of sentimental thing... The human part of me just couldn't help liking someone who trusted me so much. _And to think that I finally disbanded from the Guardians, only to find out that there's another, maybe bigger obstacle on my way to becoming a dragon._

"Well... thanks," I said, at a slight loss for words. After a brief awkward silence, I changed the subject. "Anyway, I've got to get going. And really, just forget about the Guardians - what's happening now is my fault. Really."

"If you say so," Mai said, sounding unconvinced. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I replied as I grabbed my stuff and headed out of the emptying classroom. As I walked through the school, I asked Azami if she sensed the Guardians anywhere nearby, but she couldn't feel them. _They must've already gone to purify X-eggs... I hope._ I walked home without any trouble, though an X-egg did meet up with me on the way.

I didn't spend a lot of time at home - just long enough to grab a bite to eat and change out of my uniform. Then Azami and I were off, once again searching for X-eggs. But there weren't too many around the Seiyo area, so I didn't hang around long. This time, Azami and I covered a much larger area. I was impressed with how well distributed all the X-eggs were; Kairi and Yukari must have been really busy the other night, handing out the CDs while I kept the Guardians busy. I wondered briefly if Kairi was helping the Guardians or his sister at the moment, but that thought faded as I enjoyed my flight.

It was a cool, overcast day, with a bit of wind that made it a challenge to fly. But it was a good sort of challenge, and both Azami and I reveled in molding our flight to best match the conditions. Sometimes that meant extra strain as I tried to flap against the wind; other times, it meant an exhilarating rush as I let the wind push me along at speeds I couldn't have accomplished by myself, except perhaps when diving through the air.

In the end, I brought a total of maybe fifty or sixty back to the Easter building. Not quite as much as yesterday, but then again, it wasn't any small amount, either. I didn't run into the Guardians at all. And Yukari never came to meet me on the roof of the Easter building like she had yesterday, and so it was up to me to figure out when I had enough.

And so, despite the tiredness from the prolonged flight, the day ended on a relatively good note. The Guardians just seemed to be ignoring me at school, I hadn't run into them after school, and even my bruises were beginning to fade. School would probably be weird for the next week or so, but then everyone would get used to me not being a Guardian anymore.

The main bad thought that still lingered was the whole notion of me being little more than a pawn of Easter. It made me feel small and insignificant and helpless; feelings that neither human nor dragon likes to have. And, worse even than that, was the knowledge that I had no one that could really help me out of this mess. Maybe the Guardians could've, but I wasn't going back to them. If I was going to take the path of a dragon, then I had to take it alone, for good or for ill.

* * *

Sorry that you had to wait so long for such a short, relatively boring chapter. I've been swamped with work, and my mood hasn't been improved by the fact that I have a cough that won't go away.

This chapter was supposed to be part of the next chapter, but I write too much (as always), so I had to split it.

Oh, and one last thing... DARN YOU NEW SEASON OF SHUGO CHARA! The actual anime part seems decent, but it's only about ten minutes long now! It makes me angry. Though I do like Rikka.

So thanks for reading, reviewing, etc... I'm tired right now, or else I'd at least attempt to be enthusiastic about it... sorry... Next chapter will be better, I promise...


	15. A Chara is Born!

The next morning I went to school, getting there early out of habit. It was Friday, but this hardly lifted my spirits. Easter would probably just make me work harder while I didn't have school. To be honest, I was tired, and I wished that I could just rest over the weekend, even if that wasn't quite as entertaining as catching X-eggs.

As I came in the school door with these thoughts on my mind, I hardly noticed the people that turned to stare at me. What I _did_ notice was that a decent-sized group of students were standing, focused intently on something on the main bulletin board. Normally, this board just carried largely irrelevant notices, such as "art club meets on Tuesday" or "lost kitten". No one much paid attention to what papers were pinned up there, except for when the message pertained to them. Which was why this was odd, because most people usually ignored the notices entirely.

I crept up behind the group, found the item of interest, and read:

Students of Seiyo Elementary:

Have you ever stopped to think of the possibility that perhaps the  
Guardians aren't exactly protecting your rights as students?  
Take, for example, the recent matter of the CDs.  
Why is it that the Guardians are confiscating what  
you were given? No one has done anything wrong  
with them, and there seems to be nothing wrong  
with the song itself. So why are the Guardians taking  
the CDs away from you, without so much as an explanation?

Or you could consider the matter of Yamada Miyuki, who  
has always been a good Guardian. Many students would vouch  
for how much she has helped them in subjects they struggle with.  
Yet it would appear that this Guardian, to whom you had all given  
our approval, has now been fired from a role that she was more  
that capable of handling. If the Guardians are supposed to be "students for  
the students", then how can they possibly do this without  
first asking you, the people they are supposed to represent?

By the time I finished, my jaw had literally dropped, and Azami was laughing her head off. Who would write something like this? There was no signature or other identifying feature, and it was all typed out on plain white paper. But this was almost equivalent to... rebellion. In elementary school. I could understand something like this happening in high school, maybe; after all, teens are supposed to be naturally rebellious, or something like that. But in elementary school? And it had to be someone in one of the upper grades - probably fifth or sixth grades. I wasn't even sure if anyone in my grade could write that well. I didn't think that even Mai could write something like this, though perhaps that was more due to the fact that I couldn't see Mai as someone who'd stir up trouble like this.

But who was it? Maybe it wasn't even a student at all. Maybe Yukari had thought of it, to try and sow disorder among the Guardians. She'd know what's going on in the school, thanks to Kairi, and I bet she could write something like this.

But the funny thing was, despite the great argument the paper made, it was actually all wrong. Well, it did have some valid points - the Guardians really shouldn't be so secretive with their activities, I supposed, even if they couldn't exactly tell the world about charas and X-eggs. But the reason they were taking CDs was because the CDs were seriously harmful, and the reason I got kicked out was because I wasn't exactly guarding the students here... In fact, I was probably more destructive than the CDs.

I hurried up to my classroom, and as I went, I noticed more of the same notices. There weren't a lot, but every now and then I'd pass one that was taped to the wall or pinned to another bulletin board. And heads were turning to look at me once again. Of course, people were probably even more interested in me, now that I'd been mentioned in that paper. Maybe people thought that I'd written it. They probably thought I was smart enough too. But while I was decent at writing fiction (though I hadn't done so in a while), I didn't think I could ever write something like this.

I was almost to my classroom when I saw Tadase, Rima, and Amu talking to each other in the hallway just a bit ahead of me. Which wasn't surprising - their classroom was just a little further down the hallway. I was almost past them when they saw me. Amu still couldn't bring herself to hate me, but Tadase and Rima greeted me with their customary hateful leers. Tadase made a move like he was going to try and stop me, but I hurried on past them and into my classroom before he had the chance. They were probably going to ask me about the paper, and I didn't know anything more about it than they did.

Mai was already in the classroom when I got there. She was sitting in her desk, somehow looking more shy than normal, with her hands in her lap and her eyes looking slightly downward, towards the floor. And yet... there was an underlying sense of excitement in her. At least, if the slight smile on her face was an indicator. My suspicions were aroused, and yet they seemed too absurd to believe. _Surely... Mai couldn't have... Could she?_

When Mai looked up and saw that it was me who just came in the door, her smile grew ever so slightly. "Did you see those notes posted in the hallways?" she asked as I sat my stuff down at my desk.

The way she said it made me think that there was more behind her question than just innocent curiosity. "Yeah, I saw them," I said. "You wouldn't happen to know who wrote them, do you?"

Her smile widened even farther, which was all the answer I needed.

"I thought I told you to forget about the Guardians," I said, though a smile was growing on my own face now. I just couldn't believe it. How could someone so shy write something like that, and post it up for the world to see? That took guts. "Not to say I don't appreciate it," I continued, "but you don't even know why I was kicked out, or why the CDs were taken away. Which, I'll tell you now, were for perfectly legitimate reasons."

Mai shook her head, still smiling. "That's not the point. The point was that no one was even questioning the Guardians' motives. And I was so angry that people were being so stupid that I started writing about why I was angry, and then I had the idea to post it around the school. So I got up early and hung them up before any other students got here."

I was basically speechless, and so Mai continued. She didn't bother keeping her voice down, but since there were just a couple minutes until the start of school, our classroom was almost filled with people. Which meant that too many conversations were going on around us for anyone to hear what she was saying. "And when I was writing, it felt so good, in a way. Like I was taking my thoughts and feelings and turning them into something concrete. You know, like I was actually _doing _something, rather than just sitting around and enduring whatever I didn't like. And then I looked at that story I wrote a while back, and I realized that there was so much I wanted to change, and so I started working on that. It wasn't exactly entertaining in the sense that a show or something is, but it was still so great."

It was so weird to hear Mai so enthusiastic like this. Not to say that she was impassive about everything, but this was one of only a couple times I'd actually seen her truly motivated. It made her seem more vibrant, like she was finally being a participant in life, rather than just an observer.

Then Azami tapped me on the shoulder, and pointed upward. I looked and, just like that fateful night months ago, an egg was floating above Mai's head. It was the same egg as before - creamy white with a blue pencil on it - but the pencil seemed darker than I remembered. More like a bright royal blue than the light blue that I recalled. _Maybe her dream has changed slightly since that night,_ I thought briefly.

Mai saw my gaze, and looked up also. Her expression changed to being puzzled as she caught sight of the egg hovering over her head. And she remained confused as the egg descended and stopped right in front of her. Then a faint crack appeared in the egg. And the crack widened until it extended all around the center of the egg. And, finally, it broke open.

Mai's shugo chara had finally been born.

Since she was facing Mai, all I could see was the back of the new chara. She had long, blond, straight hair that hung down her back from a ponytail. Her shirt was a nice, rich blue color, with sleeves that went about three-fourths of the way down her arms. At the ends of the sleeves, the collar, and the bottom of the shirt, there was bright yellow trim that matched her hair. She also wore a long blue skirt with faint streaks of yellow running down it, which looked a lot like sun rays flitting through the sky on a clear day. On her feet she wore yellow, almost ballet-like slippers. Between the skirt and the long-sleeved shirt, it reminded me a lot of how Mai dressed outside of school.

"Hi, Mai! My name is Suzume!" the chara said energetically. "And I'm your shugo chara! You love to write, and you want to finally be the main character in your own story! And that's how I was born!"

Mai didn't appear scared, but she did look more confused than ever. "Suzume? Shugo chara?" she said, looking to me to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating. I kept on examining the new chara, curious about what Mai's dream was like.

As if feeling mine and Azami's stares, the new chara turned around. "Oh? And who are you two?" she asked curiously.

Now that she'd turned, I could see the front of her. Suzume had bright blue eyes, which seemed to carry a glint of enthusiasm. A couple strands of her yellow hair fell down at the side of her face, and she had a blue pencil tucked behind her left ear. Her outfit looked more or less the same from the front as from the back, except for a little yellow charm that hung from the bottom of the slight 'V' of her neckline. On closer inspection, I saw that the charm was actually a little yellow book, though if it was a real book (which was entirely possible, since we were talking about charas here) or just a decoration, I couldn't tell.

Something about her - whether it was how she talked, or her outfit, or maybe even her name - just made me think of energy, and freedom. But a different kind of freedom than the kind Azami idealized. For Azami, freedom meant doing what she wants, when she wants, no matter who gets hurt in the process. But Suzume gave off a more positive aura of freedom, like something small and free and kind that simply _couldn't _be caged, no matter what happened. Even her energy seemed different. Azami's power came from showing no weakness, and caring only herself and me (which didn't really count, since we were essentially the same person). This new chara had more of an energy that came from just living, and enjoying every moment of it.

As far as first impressions go, she was the exact opposite of Azami. But she was Mai's chara, and there was no way I couldn't like her.

"Uh, I'm Miyuki, and this is Azami," I replied to the chara, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the situation. It began to dawn on me what this meant... I'd probably have to explain everything to Mai now, from what charas are to the Guardians to what I've actually been up to all this time...

"There's another one?" asked Mai, looking at Azami. "When did that get here?"

I looked around really quick to make sure that no one had noticed anything weird. A couple people were staring at us oddly, but for the most part, the class was too crowded and noisy for anyone to pay attention to us. Knowing that we didn't have a lot of time before school started, I said hurriedly, "Okay, Mai, here's what's going on. And it's kinda weird, so it's probably best if you don't try to work out the details right now. But Suzume, as she said, is your shugo chara, or guardian character. She's the kind of person that you want to be - in your case, someone who likes to write, I suppose."

"Yep!" Suzume piped up.

"I've got one, too," I said, gesturing slightly to Azami, who did her best to look as threatening as chara can. "You've just never noticed her, since you have to have your own chara to see others." Just then, the bell rang, and everyone started getting into their desks for the start of class. I whispered quickly to Mai, "I'll explain more at lunch, okay?"

Mai just nodded, not knowing exactly what to say. I whispered to Azami, "Make sure that Suzume doesn't disturb us too much during class. I think Mai needs some time to take all this in."

"Got it," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Seeing her look, I gave one final whisper, "And try not to be too mean!" She flew over to Suzume, and I doubted she'd heard me.

Throughout the rest of the morning, I thought about exactly what I was going to tell Mai. How much would I tell her? Would I tell her about how I took her shugo egg a while back? Or about how I've been stealing as many dreams as I could? It was definitely very tempting to just leave out the bits like that. Bits that someone as nice and caring as Mai wouldn't want to hear.

But she was my friend, and now that I could tell her about everything, I knew that I had to. Even the part that I hadn't told Kairi when he had asked. The part that, as of now, the only people who knew about it were Kazuomi, Yukari, myself, and Ikuto to some extent. And probably Nikaido, too, now that I thought about it. Even though I didn't like the thought of what Kazuomi would do to me if he found out that I'd told someone, I had to do it.

I wasn't sure if she would even still be my friend once I told her all this. She could even go tell the Guardians, and then I'd probably be in big trouble with Easter. Admittedly, maybe this would solve a big problem for me; I wouldn't have any more friends to stay attached to. But I wasn't sure if that step towards being a dragon would be worth that big of a loss.

When lunch came around, Mai and I left the room together, with our charas following us. Surprisingly enough, Azami hadn't picked on Suzume at all. Either that, or Suzume was so thickly energetic that she hadn't been bothered. Azami looked like she was doing her best to ignore the new chara at the moment, so perhaps Suzume's energy had been too much for even a chara like Azami to handle.

But almost as soon as we were out of the room, we came face to face with Tadase and Amu, with Rima right behind them. Their charas were all there, too, looking at the new chara who had hovered up in between us.

"Hello!" Suzume said. "And who are all of you?"

The charas immediately came up to Suzume and started introducing themselves, though I noticed that they kept their distance from Azami. Tadase and the others were either looking at Mai or (in Tadase's and Rima's case) glaring at me. Mai looked down at the ground, too shy to really greet the Guardians. It took me a moment to realize that they were probably here to greet Mai, since their charas had probably sensed Suzume being born. And if Tadase's accusing glare was anything to go by, they probably thought that I was going to corrupt her, or something to that extent.

Thankfully, most of the regular kids, though intrigued by the Guardians' presence, had been too hungry to stick around. No one else was in the hallway, so I ended the awkward silence and got straight to the point. "Okay, Mai, just so you know, the Guardians all have charas, too. And they probably think that I'm the most horrible person currently in the school. For good reasons. They'll explain everything, too, if you'd prefer to listen to them over me. It's your choice."

Most of the Guardians were too surprised by my bluntness to say anything, though Tadase wasn't going to let me have the last word. Using his best adorable-prince look, he said "We'd be more than happy to help you out. And it would be much better if we explained it than _her._" He said 'her' as he glared at me, probably giving Mai a pretty good idea of how much he hated me.

Mai continued to look at the ground, and after a moment's thought, she said quietly, "Thanks, but it'd be weird for everyone to see me sitting at your table. Maybe some other time." She walked off quickly, as if she couldn't wait to get away from them, and Azami, Suzume, and I followed. The Guardians didn't follow; either they already saw Mai as a lost cause (doubtful), or they just needed to regroup before attempting to talk to Mai again.

In the lunch line, I explained to Mai more about what charas were, and how they were born. At least, what I knew about it. I didn't have time for much else, since we couldn't exactly talk once we were at Mai's table with other kids around. Mai seemed to take it all well, and she smiled quite a bit at Suzume's seemingly boundless energy. But she didn't ask about my feud with the Guardians yet, for which I was grateful; I didn't want to start on that story until I had time to say all of it, start to finish.

So, once lunch was over, we had to wait another three hours until we could really talk. Whenever I looked over at Mai during lessons, I could tell that her mind was far from schoolwork. Suzume sat on Mai's desk for most of the time, but other than a comment here and there, she stayed quiet. Mai and I were both anxious by the time the bell rang, so we hurried out to the school grounds. We somehow managed to get out of the school without running into the Guardians, for which I was grateful.

Once we were in a well-treed part of the grounds (which felt secluded despite the lack of leaves), we stopped and sat on the ground. The clouds from yesterday hadn't cleared up yet, though it was relatively pleasant outside anyway.

"So are you going to tell me why the Guardians don't like you now?" Mai asked cautiously.

"Do you mean those people that we met before lunch?" asked Suzume. "Their charas seemed nice enough."

"Yeah, that's them," I replied to the chara. "And yeah, I'm going to tell you what's been going on, Mai. But it's a long story. And you'll probably hate me before we're even halfway through, though I'd suggest you just wait to the end to say so."

Mai looked at me curiously, but she didn't respond. And so, I started with my story.

I tried not to be too detailed, as far as descriptions go. But I did try to hit everything important that had happened. Mai just listened patiently, as did Suzume. When I got to the part about joining Easter, she still remained silent, despite the fact that I emphasized what the Guardians thought of the company. Even when I got to the part where Nikaido ordered me to take Mai's egg and I said how I did it, she still only listened, though she also scowled a bit as if in thought. Suzume did give a little cry of anger at that part, though she let me continue my story anyway.

Except for that one little part, Suzume seemed to rather enjoy the tale, even the parts where I did something horrible or when something horrible happened to me. Azami added her own comments every now and then, but for the most part, she just acted annoyed at me for going through all this trouble just to tell the truth to someone that it was un-dragonish to care about. And somehow, I managed to get through it all. I wasn't emotionless, per say, but nor did I act sad about taking Mai's egg or angry about what Easter had done to me. I said it all in a rather matter-of-fact manner, probably making me sound even more heartless than I was.

On the other hand, I did mention a couple of times how I felt about things, just to keep them clear in Mai's mind. I told her how bad I'd felt about taking her egg, and about how little repentance I had about creating so many X-eggs. I mentioned how I didn't really want to hurt the Guardians, and yet how much I enjoyed fighting them. The only thing I wasn't completely truthful about was my worry about Easter; I downplayed that, not wanting to admit my weakness to Mai, especially with Azami around.

"And so I got to today, with the papers you'd written and your chara being born," I finally finished after about thirty minutes of straight talking. I mentally braced myself for the worst, unsure about what Mai would do or say now.

"That was great!" Suzume shouted before Mai could say anything, to both my and Azami's surprise. "All we'd need to do is come up with a happy ending and this'd make a perfect story!" She grabbed the little yellow book that hung from her neckline and it grew slightly until it was (relatively to her) about the size of a small notebook. Then she took the pencil from behind her ear and started scribbling furiously, as if there was only a limited amount of time for her to write her thoughts down.

I turned away from the chara and looked over to Mai. She didn't look angry, but nor did she look happy or sad or relieved or anything else. I really couldn't read her expression. Our eyes met for a moment, but she looked away first, turning her gaze to watch Suzume writing in her little book. "You know, I don't hold any of that against you, even if you're not necessarily sorry about it," Mai said after a short silence.

I gaped, unable to comprehend this for a second or two. "Really?" I finally asked.

Mai nodded, though she continued to look at Suzume.

"And you do remember what I said about me being a dragon, right?" I said. If she really wasn't going to be angry about this, I wanted to make sure that she was certain. "If I'm going to try and be a dragon, I can't keep on hanging out with anyone. Including you."

Mai turned back to me and smiled. "Maybe that's what Azami wants, but I know you better than that. I don't think you truly want to isolate yourself. And even if that reallty _is _your would-be self, can't it change somewhat as you experience new things?"

I just blinked, a little dumbfounded. Of course, I'd thought of this possibility before. But the Guardians had never mentioned it, so I'd always pushed it off as just some meaningless thought. But now here was Mai saying it as if it was the most logical thing in the world. And I trusted Mai's logic, perhaps more than I trusted my own.

Mai's smile grew wider. "So you'll have to suffer through my friendship a little bit longer. Okay?"

Unable to help myself, I smiled slightly back. But it soon faded as my mind turned to other matters. "So... what are you going to do now that you know all this?" I asked. "Are you going to tell the Guardians?"

"Not if you don't want me to," Mai said. "You trusted me with your story; I won't speak of it to another soul if you ask me not to."

I sighed with relief; I wouldn't have to endure Easter's punishment. But another thought entered my head: did I really want Mai to keep it a secret? Plus, if Mai was going to joining the Guardians - which I wanted her to, to perhaps give her some protection against Easter - the Guardians would expect her to spill what she knew about me. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't trust her. And maybe it was time that the Guardians knew more.

"How about this," I said. "I leave the choice up to you. You can tell them if you want, or keep it to yourself. And I honestly think the best thing for you to do would be to join the Guardians. But if you do join the Guardians and tell them all this, I have two conditions."

"What?" asked Mai.

"First of all, Don't tell them every single thought and feeling I told you. That was for you alone. They don't need to know that I didn't want to fight them, or how I actually did like the fighting. Or anything else like that." I paused, and Mai nodded in agreement. So I continued, "Secondly, I don't want you telling them how Easter is making me do all this. The whole crystal thing."

Mai tilted her head questioningly. "Why?" she asked. "Don't you want the Guardians to know that you don't want to hurt them?"

I shook my head. "No, actually. I don't want them knowing that."

"But why?" asked Mai again.

But all I did was shake my head. I suppose it was part of my pride as a dragon, but I didn't want to be revealing my weakness and mistake to everyone. Mai had deserved to hear it, but I hadn't even told her all I felt about it. And I had a feeling that it was my burden to bear, at least until the point when I would somehow solve my own problem. In truth, I didn't even want Mai to help me; I'd already resolved to face this alone, and now I couldn't bring myself to accept help from anyone.

Mai frowned a bit as if trying to figure out my motives, but she quickly shook it off. "Anything else?" she asked.

"Nope," I replied. "So are you going to join the Guardians?"

Mai thought for a moment, then said, "I don't think so. I'll probably talk to them, and I'll tell them what you told me. I know the part of you that wants to be a dragon probably doesn't like it, but I am kind of on the good-guy side. And since the Guardians kind of seem to be the good guys, I want to at least let them know." She paused, then said, "But I don't think I'll be joining them. But I might help them out, if I can. I think that they're your best hope for getting away from Easter, and I want to help with that, if I can."

I almost protested, but then thought better of it. If she wanted to try, then fine. But I doubted any help she tried to give would result in anything, so in the end, it would still be just me facing my problem.

So instead of answering that, I changed the subject to happier thoughts. "Well, okay. As I said, it's up to you. But anyway, let's focus on you for a bit - you've had your chara for nearly a whole day, and you haven't chara-changed once yet!"

Suzume, realizing she was being talked about, looked up from her little notebook. The notebook shrunk, and she attached it back to the neck of her shirt. "You know, you're right!" the chara said. "I'm ashamed of myself! But I know how to fix it!" Turning to Mai, she said, "Let's do it! Chara-change!"

Before Mai had any time to protest, a blue pencil appeared behind her ear. Mai sat taller, and she suddenly seemed more alive. She looked around for a moment, until her eyes alighted on a nearby tree. Then, with a voice so strong and sure of itself that I could hardly believe it belonged to her, she said, "The trees look rather sad right now, don't you think?" she said. "They're so hard and brittle right now... Shutting out everything, to the point where they could be dead and no one would really know. They are mere skeletons of what they normally are. But we know that, deep inside that tree, there is still life. Just waiting for the sun to shine so that its energy can reach out and show itself to those who see it. Look - the leaves are even starting to bud. Just barely, but they're still there. The promise of life to come."

_Okay... so her chara makes her more eloquent, I guess. _I thought that maybe that was the end of the chara-change, but she turned to me and the pencil was still behind her ear.

"You're like that tree, in a way," she said, and I just continued to sit on the ground, speechless. "Maybe you want to harden yourself on the outside, but you have life bursting within you, just waiting for someone to let it out. I'm hoping that I can be that sunlight for you." Now the pencil disappeared, and Mai went almost immediately back to her quiet, subdued demeanor. Seeing my stupefied look and realizing what she had just said, she blushed. "I-I'm sorry. I just suddenly couldn't stop talking... I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it - I was just being stupid..."

"Don't be silly, Mai!" Suzume said, floating up to her. "That was your chara-change! And it was what you really feel. Don't be afraid of speaking out - if you want to change something, then that's the best way to start. Unless you want the world to pass you by, you've got to seize the moment!"

Mai was still blushing, and she looked down at the ground. I'd gotten over my shock of being compared to a tree now, so I said, "Don't worry about it, Mai. That's what chara-changes do. And it's not a bad thing to let me know how you feel. If your shugo chara is making you do it, then it's probably even a good thing. And I've heard of worst first chara-changes. I jumped off a three-story building, after all. And as I understand it, Amu confessed her love to Tadase in front of the entire school when Ran, one of her charas, was born."

It took a moment for Mai to make the connection, but then she grinned a bit. "I remember that. It was at a school assembly with the Guardians. So that was because of a chara?"

"Yep," I said.

"Not meaning to be rude, but... that's kind of funny," she said as she started to giggle. I laughed a bit too, but as I did so, I looked over to Azami. She was looking really annoyed right now, and I realized that I was probably testing her patience to an unsafe degree. I took my phone out of my school bag, and glanced at the time. 4:26. If Yukari found out that I'd been messing around this long while the Guardians might be cleansing X-eggs, she could get angry. Considering that Kairi would soon be revealed as a spy soon enough by Mai, I didn't particularly want to get on her bad side.

"Mai, I'm sorry, but I think I need to get going," I said when she stopped laughing. "I really should be collecting X-eggs right now. Just so that I can prepare myself, when can I expect you to tell the Guardians about everything I told you?"

Mai's face turned a little bit more grave with the change of topic. "Well... I don't think I could actually try to talk to one of them over the weekend. It would be too awkward."

"What are you talking about?" Suzume said cheerily. "Don't put off tomorrow what you could do right now!"

"That's true, but I still think I'll wait until Monday," Mai replied.

I nodded, glad that I would have at least two days of reprieve before having to deal with Easter's anger. "Well, I'll be leaving then. I'll see you on Monday." I stood up, grabbed my bag, and was about to walk off.

But Mai got up, too. "Wait," she said.

I turned. "What is it?" I asked.

"Do you think... that maybe... Well, why don't you just character transform here. Or whatever it was you called it. I'd like to see it," Mai seemed embarrassed that she was asking, and she looked down at the ground.

I had just been planning on walking home, to give myself some time to think before I started collecting X-eggs. But if Mai wanted to see it, I guess there wasn't any real problem with transforming here. "All right," I agreed. "Just try not to be too shocked." I looked over at Azami and, despite her previous annoyance, she looked eager now. Of course, she always liked to chara-nari, and she probably was more than happy to show it off.

"My own heart - unlock!" I said. The dark fog surrounded me, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Mai involuntarily take a step back. I brought Azami into myself as I always did and I felt my body and clothes change. But it wasn't until the fog disappeared and I said "Chara-nari: Dark Dragon!" that Mai could see what I had become.

She was awestruck. "Wow, Miyuki - I can hardly believe it's you," Mai said in almost a whisper.

Suzume frowned and looked at me critically. "It is amazing, but... doesn't something feel wrong?"

"You're probably just sensing the X-energy," I said. "I feel perfectly fine."

"No, that's not it," Suzume replied. "I can feel the X-energy, and maybe it's causing whatever is wrong, but it's something more than just the X-energy. Are you sure that it doesn't feel off in some way?"

I shrugged. "I'm pretty sure it's just your author's imagination getting the best of you," I said. But now that she mentioned it, maybe there was something... Though perhaps that was just my own imagination getting the better of me. I shook off the feeling. "Anyway, I really do have to go. I suppose I'll see both of you on Monday." And, with that, I grabbed my schoolbag, opened my wings, and flew into the sky.

As soon as I was steadily in the air, Azami said, "I can't believe you. I thought you were trying to be a dragon? So what was all this friendship nonsense about?"

"Well..." The truth was, I had no excuse. "I don't know. I think that you'll probably just have to live with this un-dragonish part of me. If you really want to keep your hopes up, then there's always the chance that she might not like me when she sees firsthand just how I can really be." It hurt me to say this, since there was a grain of truth behind it. It was one thing when she accepted a story that I told. It would be another thing for her to see me hurting the Guardians. And if she did end up helping the Guardians, then that could mean that I'd end up hurting her as well. Could she truly continue to think of me as a friend then?

"I shouldn't have to hope about this at all," Azami argued. "You shouldn't be encouraging this kind of thing. You're supposed to be a dragon."

"You've told me this a hundred times, but for once in your life, you'll just have to deal with me not even attempting to follow what you say," I answered. "She's my friend, and I'm not going to try to chase her away anymore. End of story."

I could feel Azami's annoyance rising inside of me. "So what happened to the whole 'I'm going to do anything I can to be a dragon' attitude?"

"I changed my mind," I said simply. "If she can accept the rest of my dragon-like behavior, I see no reason that I shouldn't let our friendship run its own course, for good or for ill."

Azami continued to grumble, but for once, I wasn't going to let her win an argument. I'd made up my mind, and this time, my decision was final.

* * *

Okay, some things I've been meaning to say for a while, but I keep on forgetting.

1. First of all, thanks to all reviewers, because we have surpassed the number of reviews for Book 1!! Book 1 has 76 reviews and Book 2 (at this moment) has 92~! And it's only half as long so far!

2. Secondly, though I haven't been keeping up with word count lately, this one is up well past the 60,000 word mark, making me one of only a couple of authors who have two stories over 60,000 words! This story is, in fact, over 78,000 words right now. And if you combine that with book 1, that makes for a whopping 227,000 word story~! Yay! Book 1 also remains the longest Shugo Chara story, and one of only ten over 100,000 words.

So, yeah. Other than that... Mai finally got her chara!!! Yay! Surprising, since when I first came up with Mai, I never planned on her ever being more than just someone who happened to be mentioned in the story. On a side note, Suzume means sparrow in Japanese, and I think that really seems to fit her personality. Hence why I chose that name. I also actually made a pretty decent drawing of Suzume (if I do say so myself), and so if I ever get it scanned and up onto the internet, I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! And I'm sorry I've been slow with chapters lately. School is killing me. I've got several three-day weekends coming up, so maybe that will give me some time to write and recuperate from school.


	16. The Truth Tries To Come Out, But Fails

I slept in late Saturday morning, which in itself was an odd thing; I normally can't sleep past eight o' clock, even when I wanted to. It was already ten thirty by the time I finally hauled myself out of bed. But what could I say? Going out flying every night was fun, but exhausting. The X-energy helped to keep me going, at least when I was flying. But when I wasn't in my chara-nari, I'd often feel lethargic due to the Darkness. That was probably part of the reason I'd slept in so late this morning.

But, for the first time in a while, I didn't have to wake up thinking about how much my life stinks. Sure, I was still under Easter's control. And sure, the Guardians probably still hated me. But Mai's chara had finally hatched! And even better than that, I wasn't going to let Azami ruin my happiness for her. _You know, despite the fact that she's supposed to be my 'guardian' character, Azami can be a real bully sometimes, _I thought. _I know she's trying to help, but still..._

"Are you finally up?" Azami asked as I crawled out of bed.

"Obviously," I replied, rubbing my eyes.

Azami flicked her tail in annoyance, but otherwise let the comment slide. "So are we going to get more X-eggs today?" she asked.

"I dunno. Yukari probably wants us to keep it up," I said.

"But do_ you_ want to?"

"We don't have much of a choice if Easter wants us to do it, do we?" I said, my good mood vanishing.

"I suppose not," Azami said, though she sounded unconcerned. "Still, how are they going to know if you're flying around gathering eggs or not?"

"Well, if I don't bring any eggs to them today, it will be a pretty good indication," I said. Ginger jumped up on my bed, and I scratched her between the ears absentmindedly. As I did, another thought occurred to me. "Plus, I've got a paper that I need to write this weekend, but I don't particularly want to write it. Collecting X-eggs is as good a procrastination technique as any."

"Though only Nikaido would buy it as an excuse for why you didn't do your homework," Azami joked.

I smiled and got ready, my good mood gradually returning. It was just such great news that Mai's chara had hatched that I couldn't keep it out of my head. _I wonder how Mai and Suzume doing now._

As soon as I'd finished breakfast (which was actually more like brunch or lunch by the time I got around to it), I left the house to search for X-eggs. It was a great day for flying; the weather was finally warming up, and so I let the spring breezes carry me around most of the time. I didn't run into the Guardians at all, but that didn't surprise me. I was having to go farther and farther across town in order to find X-eggs, and the chances of me meeting up with them in such a big city were slim. As I flew, I wondered how long Easter was going to make me keep this up. The number of X-eggs already seemed to be down drastically, and in a couple of days, I doubted any more would be left for me to shepherd back to Easter.

And though I was feeling generally fine as I drifted from neighborhood, there were a couple worrying thoughts that I tended to dwell on. One was the thought of what Easter would do to me once Mai told the Guardians about everything I'd told her. Even if she told them when Kairi wasn't around, I was almost sure that the Guardians would confront Kairi immediately. And as soon as Kairi found out about it, Easter would know, too. My other concern was the whole concept of being bound to Easter. Until I somehow got ahold of that crystal, I really would have no choice but to do what Kazuomi said. This was not a pleasant thought. But, as always, I could think of no way to get out of it.

As I approached the roof of Easter to deposit my second load of X-eggs, I saw that Kairi was waiting for me. I was slightly confused as to why he'd be up here by himself; the couple of times I'd seen him at Easter, he was almost always with his sister. _Does he want to talk to me about something, perhaps? _I thought. _He couldn't know that I told Mai about him yet, could he?_

I landed on the roof and directed the eggs into their crates. Kairi waited for me to finish, then walked up to me. "My sister would like to speak with you. Please follow me, Yamada-san." He turned and headed towards the door which led to the inside.

I sighed, ended my chara-nari and followed him. "You know, you really should try and lighten up some," I found myself saying.

Kairi didn't respond.

I shrugged, though since he was in front of me, he didn't see it. "Suit yourself. And just so you know, you might want to brace yourself for Monday. The Guardians might not be too happy." I hadn't meant to say this much, but perhaps I owed it to Kairi to give him some forewarning.

Kairi stopped suddenly, and I nearly ran into him. We were just inside the door, at the top of a set of stairs that led to further down in the building. He didn't turn around as he said in a slow, measured voice, "And why will Monday be different from any other day, Yamada-san?" Musashi did turn to look at us, yet he seemed unsurprised by what I was implying.

I didn't answer for a moment as I debated whether or not to tell him. But Azami ended up deciding for me. "She told Mai about everything, and Mai is going to tell the Guardians," Azami said, with a hint of amusement in her voice.

For maybe a minute or so, we just stood there. Since he was still facing forward, there wasn't much of a way for me to tell what was going through his mind. Finally, he said, "I see." Then he continued down the stairs as if nothing had happened. I followed, hoping desperately that he wasn't going to tell Yukari when we met up with her. I was probably going to get punished eventually, whether he told her now or not, but I still wanted to delay it as much as possible.

We went down several flights of stairs before Kairi finally came to a halt in front of a door. He unlocked the door, and then led the way into an all-too-familiar hallway. This was the floor where I'd always gotten my power from the crystal. _I've already got enough X-energy to beat up four character transformations. Surely Yukari doesn't feel like she needs to give me more? _But Kairi led me past the room I normally went to, so perhaps I didn't need to worry about that.

Instead, we came to another door. Kairi knocked, and I heard Yukari say, "Come in!" Kairi opened the door for me. Our eyes met for a moment as I went inside, but as always, I couldn't interpret what he was thinking. I had to hand it to him; while I probably could lie better than anyone I knew, Kairi could definitely conceal his emotions much better than I could.

As Kairi followed me in and closed the door behind us, I took a look around me. Yukari was sitting at a desk at the opposite end of the small room we were in. But other than the desk and the chair she was sitting in, there was nothing whatsoever to decorate the plain room. I supposed I couldn't expect much more from a high-ranking Easter employee like herself.

Yukari looked up from her papers and gave me a little cruel-looking smile. "I'm glad you've been keeping up with your egg hunting," she said to me without the least bit of gladness in her voice. "But it seems like there are less and less coming in. Have you been keeping your efforts at full force?"

I scowled slightly at what she was suggesting. "I'm not being lazy, if that's what you mean," I said. "There have been a lot fewer eggs, that's all. I've had to fly farther just to get as many as I have this morning."

Yukari nodded with feigned understanding. "I suppose that's fine. It won't be a problem for long, though; that perfume that we've made will finally be on the markets by Monday, and that should steadily increase the amount of eggs you can provide us with. And Easter will definitely need plenty of X-eggs in the coming week, so be sure to get as many as possible."

She said this in such a purposely offhanded manner that my curiosity was piqued. "And why does Easter need X-eggs this week more than any other week, if I may ask?" I said with mock respect.

"Something that we'll need your full cooperation with in order for it to be as big of a success as possible," Yukari said, her grin widening slightly. "On Saturday two weeks from today, Easter will be putting on a massive music festival, featuring many of the most popular performers that have contracts with us. The Darts, P-TUN... and, of course, Hoshina Utau."

"So it's just going to be like the concerts I used to help at, just on a larger scale?" I asked.

"Actually, no." Yukari said. "First of all, Hoshina Utau's concert isn't going to be our main attraction. Rather, it will be Black Diamond. Using Hinamori Amu's shugo chara, Utau has been able to draw out many more eggs than she used to with just Iru. Secondly, using all of the X-eggs you've gathered, we've had some new equipment made. The scientists are certain that this will be able to draw out a vast amount of eggs. And at an event such as this, maybe we'll finally be able to pull the Embryo from someone. If not, we'll have a nice supply of X-eggs to experiment with. It is sort of a surprise event, which we hope will get people excited about going - it won't be officially announced until Monday."

Yukari was obviously very excited about this plan; she kept herself cool and collected on the outside, but I could tell that she was bursting with a sort of competitive enthusiasm. Maybe she'd been promised a promotion or something if everything went according to plan.

Still, as cool as this sounded, it didn't seem all that great to me. "But still, you just want me to help out with getting the X-eggs, right? And smoke effects, too, I'd guess."

Yukari narrowed her eyes (probably annoyed that I wasn't sharing her enthusiasm) and replied, "Yes, in essence. And, of course, you'll need to deal with the Guardians if they present a problem. Until then, I'll just need you to keep collecting X-eggs. Also, come back here in a week at about this time, so you can get another boost of X-energy."

I mentally cringed at getting even more X-energy, even though the Darkness hadn't been bothering me too much lately. There was always the chance that maybe I could use any extra power to get a hold of that crystal somehow, but... I doubted it. More X-energy would simply put me even farther under Easter's influence.

"Is that all?" Azami asked.

"Yes, I suppose. Just make sure you don't forget to come by next Saturday," Yukari said. "You can go now."

I turned to leave, but Kairi grabbed my arm with a surprisingly strong grip, stopping me from going anywhere. "Yamada-san, please wait for a moment." Kairi then turned to his sister and said, "I have just been informed by Yamada-san herself that she has revealed my true identity as a spy for Easter."

For a moment I was stunned that Kairi was actually telling his sister right now. Sure, I realized that he reported to her, but I would have thought that he'd have the sympathy to keep it quiet for now. Apparently, I was wrong; his sense of duty was apparently stronger than any sympathy he had for me.

"Is this true?" Yukari asked as she looked at me, her voice venomous.

I sighed, then turned around. Kairi let go of my arm reluctantly, as if afraid I would try to escape. But the thought of running didn't even occur to me. I knew what I'd get for such disobedience, and I'd already given up hope of avoiding it.

"Yes, it's true," I said quietly, refusing to meet Yukari's gaze.

"And who did you tell?" Yukari asked.

I kept my mouth shut. If I could avoid it, I didn't want Easter knowing about Mai. But there was no way I could keep Kairi from talking. "The girl Yamada-san told goes by the name of Tamiya Mai," Kairi said. "She is a good friend of Yamada-san, and she just had a shugo chara born yesterday. Yamada-san informed me that Mai is going to tell the Guardians."

"Is there any way we can convince her not to?" Yukari asked.

"She's too much of a good girl to fall for anything you could do to get her to keep quiet," I said. It was true, but more than that, I hoped that I was discouraging Yukari from even trying to contact Mai.

Yukari narrowed her eyes, and still I didn't meet her stare. "Is that so?" she said. Then she looked at Kairi. "Well, thank you, Kairi. I'm glad that I can rely on someone around here. Now please step outside while I deal with Miyuki."

As Kairi left the room, I felt the blood leave my face. I knew what was going to come next, and there really wasn't anything I could do about it. I simply stood there as Yukari slowly reached into her pocket. And I still did nothing as she pulled out the little machine which held the crystal in place. Even Azami didn't do anything; she just stood on my shoulder, tensed for the pain that she knew would come as soon as Yukari pushed the button. I kept my eyes cast downward toward her desk as I waited; I knew that there was no way I'd be able to hold her gaze for more than a few seconds right now, unless I chara-changed. And Yukari was smart enough that she wouldn't have let me chara-change.

After a few tense seconds, I finally decided look up at Yukari. I saw anger in her gaze, mixed with another emotion that perhaps could have been pity. But I only saw it for a moment before Yukari pressed the button. Then I immediately fell to the ground and curled up as my body tried to escape the pain. But there was no escape. My body trembled and my breathing grew shallow, though I noticed neither. My mind was trapped within the pain and despair. It was so overwhelming that I couldn't even scream, or shout for it to stop. I could make only one coherent thought, and I repeated it over and over in my mind:

_I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die I want to die I want to DIE I WANT TO DIE._

And though I had little grasp of time, my mind slowly began to wear away as Yukari continued to hold the button down. Ten seconds... fifteen seconds... twenty... Much longer than the other times she or Kazuomi had done this to me. Finally, I went into a sort of unfeeling state of mind. I was still conscious, but my mind had withdrawn so far into itself that it seemed like I had somehow separated myself from the rest of the world.

Then the pain ended. But for a moment, I couldn't wake up. I couldn't bring myself back to my senses. I was so far within my own mind that I couldn't feel anything or see anything or hear anything. I was thinking somewhat clearly again now that the pain was gone, but I nearly panicked when I kept trying to find the presence of my own body. It was almost like I was in a nightmare. A nightmare where I knew that I was sleeping, but I couldn't wake up no matter how hard I tried.

But then, all of a sudden, I was back. My body was still tensed, with my knees drawn up to my chest, so I slowly relaxed. As I pulled myself off the ground, I found myself starting to laugh. I guess I was just so relieved that I'd been able to wake up that I had to express it. But this wasn't natural. Even though I was no longer trapped in that nightmare, I really didn't have anything to laugh about. I quickly stopped myself. Azami got on my shoulder, her tail twitching back and forth in agitation.

Yukari looked at me with an odd expression on her face, though I barely noticed her. "Now you may go," she said. It took a couple of seconds for my brain to register what she had said, but once I had, I turned and left without another word. Kairi was waiting just outside the door, and he stared at me as I left. But I paid no attention to his scrutinizing gaze as I passed by him. In fact, I hardly realized he was there.

I went back up to the roof and character-transformed, but I barely managed to get into the sky. It wasn't so much that my body was weak; the X-energy always managed to keep me strong, especially when character-transformed. But I was just so distracted that I was barely able to do anything, let alone fly. When I did finally get in the air, I didn't even bother to steer myself; I just let the wind blow me around, only really moving my wings when I had to balance myself or gain altitude. For a while, I was so completely lost in my thoughts that a jumbo jet could have hit me and I wouldn't have noticed.

Then, finally, I spoke. "Azami?"

"Yeah?" she asked from inside me.

"What exactly happened back there? Was the pain any different for you this time?"

"It was longer," Azami said, with hatred in her voice. "But not any different for me. You, on the other hand... Did you black out for a few seconds at the end? You didn't relax until a little bit after the pain was gone. And you acted... weird after you did get up."

For a few minutes I didn't say anything. But eventually, I worked up the courage to try to describe what had happened. "I... I don't think I'll be able to take much more of those punishments, if they last that long," I said. "I think that I'm going mad. I nearly couldn't escape from my own head today, if that makes sense. And even when I did wake up... my mind wasn't normal. Maybe it still isn't normal."

"I think you're over-exaggerating," Azami said. "The pain is a lot to endure, but I think you're fine. Plus, what's wrong with a little insanity? I'd say that all dragons have at least a bit of it in them." This last part was more of a joke than anything, but I wasn't cheered up. Still, Azami was probably right; what did I know about going insane, anyway? How was I supposed to know what it felt like?

Yet still, the doubt that it could happen stayed within me. Even if it wasn't happening now, what if it happened later as a result of all the stress caused by Easter? It was probably the most frightening concept I'd ever thought of. Not dying, but losing myself... The very idea made me shiver.

Probably noticing my gloom, Azami said, "Really, don't worry about it. What is insanity but what other people call someone who's different? As long as you're popular enough, you can have as little sanity as you want." As an after thought, she said, "Not to mention, you see and talk to little floating people who are invisible to the vast majority of people. If that doesn't make you insane, I don't know what will."

I laughed, though it felt somewhat forced. "Well, you may have a point there."

* * *

Later that night, the X-energy was too much, and I was pulled down into the Darkness. It didn't last long, but it was enough to kill any optimism I had for the weekend. On Sunday it happened again, much to my despair. But other than that, the weekend passed without further incident. True, I _almost_ ran into a couple of the Guardians while I was looking for X-eggs (Azami couldn't tell who it was, but she sensed a couple of their charas), but I turned around to avoid any conflict. Azami, of course, wanted me to fight, but I argued that if I could easily beat all of the Guardians, then one or two of them wouldn't be much of a challenge. I didn't really care about that; I just _really_ wasn't in the mood for a fight.

Then Monday came. I got to school with a fair bit of time before class could start. People were still talking about me, but to my surprise, not everyone was siding with the Guardians. A couple of people that I didn't know very well (I think from the fourth grade) came up to me as I walked to my classroom. They said that they didn't believe that I could have done anything wrong enough to get kicked out of the Guardians, and they told me that they completely agreed with that notice that had been hanging up on Friday. It surprised me that anyone would actually support me over the Guardians. I wanted to ask them why, but they were so embarrassed that they dashed off as soon as they had finished talking.

And they weren't the only ones, as far as I could tell. As I waited in my classroom for the school day to start, I caught snatches of some other conversations.

"Do you think that Yamada-san actually did anything?"

"She must have done _something_, or else the Guardians wouldn't be so mean."

"Wouldn't we have heard if someone did something that bad?"

"And even though we didn't choose Miyuki, we did let her be a Guardian. Shouldn't we get an explanation, like that paper said on Friday?"

"I don't know. But Yamada-san hasn't done anything in response to the Guardians; she just sits there and bears it. Even with everyone talking about her and what she probably did, she's not acting angry towards the Guardians at all. Isn't it amazing that she doesn't let the situation make her angry?"

By no means were people like this in the majority. But they were there. And as I saw it, I had Mai to thank for that. The reason they were even considering that I might not be in the wrong was because Mai's paper had posed the question.

Mai didn't come until right before the bell rang, and so we didn't really have any time to say anything to each other. At lunch we still didn't get a chance to really talk, since we stood in line with Mai's friends. I wasn't in a hurry or anything, so it wasn't a big deal. I just wanted to know if she'd talked to the Guardians at all yet, and I was curious to find out how her first weekend with Suzume went. So I waited through the rest of the school day, and I finally got to talk to her after school.

"So have you talked to the Guardians yet?" I asked as soon as the bell rang.

Mai shook her head. "No. I was running late this morning, so I couldn't talk to them before school. But this was slipped into my locker." She pulled out an official-looking envelope. I didn't even need to read the letter inside; I knew it had to be an invitation to the Royal Garden. "I was just going to go over there now." She paused, looking at me hard for a few long seconds.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked, wondering what could be wrong.

"It's not that," Mai said. "But you look kind of tired. Are you all right?"

_She doesn't miss anything, does she?_ I thought to myself. _W__henever the Darkness overtakes me, it really drains my energy. Even though I haven't yet had a problem yet today... twice in a weekend definitely doesn't make me feel the best._ "Yeah, I'm okay. As you said, I'm just kind of tired." Then, changing the subject, I said, "Anyway, do you mind if I wait around for you while you talk to the Guardians? I want to know what happens."

"That's fine," Mai said. "Though based on how the Guardians feel about you right now, they might not like it as much."

"They'll just have to live with it, then," I said as we started walking out of the classroom. "So anyway, how was the weekend with Suzume?"

Upon hearing her name, Suzume broke off from the one-sided conversation she had been having with Azami. "We had a great weekend!" Suzume said. "We wrote some, and yesterday we went to the park. All the trees are starting to bud with leaves, so everything felt so fresh and new."

Mai smiled, and added quietly, "Yeah, we enjoyed it."

I nodded, glad that they were getting along. But thinking of the weekend made me remember that I hadn't told Mai about anything that had happened to me this weekend. Most notably, Kairi knowing that she would tell, and the news of the whole concert thing a couple weeks from now. But while it had made sense to fill her in on everything up to this point - I'd been hiding it from her only because she didn't have a chara, after all - I wasn't sure if it was smart to tell her everything now. Because now we were going to be on opposite sides. And if I kept on telling her everything and Easter found out, then I'd be punished again.

Still, I didn't want to have to lie to her. So I settled on a compromise. "Hey Mai?"

"What is it?" she asked.

"You do know that now that I've filled you in on everything I needed to tell you, I might not always tell you everything, right?" She looked confused about what I was trying to say, so I explained further. "You know, 'cause now you're going to be joining the Guardians. I'll get in huge trouble if I tell you Easter's plans, and then you tell the Guardians. And I don't want you to have to hide something from the Guardians, even though I know you would if I asked you to."

Mai thought for a minute or so before answering. "Yes, I understand. The same will probably hold true for me. If I want to help you, I probably won't be able to tell you what the Guardians want to do. Otherwise you'd stop them or avoid them, and then we would get nowhere."

I was glad that Mai wasn't angry at me for keeping secrets. Glad enough that I really didn't care if she had to keep secrets from me, too. "So we're agreed?" I asked.

"Yes," Mai said.

By now we'd made it to the Royal Garden. Mai stopped in front of the doors, as if unsure whether she should go in or not. But Suzume wouldn't stand for that.

"Come on, Mai-chan!" Suzume said. "There's nothing to be scared of! Let's go!" The doors were open a bit, and Suzume zoomed through the gap.

"Suzume, wait!" Mai said. Then she turned back to me for a moment. "Well, I'll see you later. Wish me luck."

I smiled. "Don't worry. The Guardians will like you. I'm sure of it."

Mai nodded her thanks for the encouragement, then hurried inside after Suzume. Azami grumbled something unintelligible in her annoyance as the door closed, but I ignored her.

* * *

As I waited, I passed the time by doing some homework. Not exactly the most entertaining of activities, but it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. Nearly an hour had passed before Mai and the rest of the Guardians finally emerged from the Royal Garden. Unsurprisingly, Tadase glared at me when he saw me waiting. Rima did, too, which was also unsurprising. Whatever Mai had said, it apparently hadn't been enough to make them like me again. Which was fine by me. Yaya and Amu still acted like they didn't know what to think of me. And Kairi went out with the rest of them, looking just the same as he always did. Nothing to suggest that he was actually a traitor, just like me.

Had Mai told them anything at all?

Mai was the last to come out, and the two of us hung back until the Guardians were out of hearing range. Mai looked troubled, and I guessed that something had gone wrong. Had the Guardians refused to accept her because she was friends with me? But that didn't make sense; they had invited her to come to the garden today, after all. But maybe they had been trying to convince her to stop being friends with me, and Mai had refused. That could've made sense, I supposed. But why did Kairi still seem to be accepted as a Guardian? Suzume still looked happy, but I doubted _anything_ could make her otherwise, so that didn't really help me figure it out.

Finally, when Azami judged the Guardians to be far enough away, she said to Mai, "All right, spill it: what happened in there?"

Mai seemed slightly offended by Azami's rough manner, but she answered anyway. "They didn't believe the story."

"What?" I asked. "Did they think you were just making it up?"

Mai shook her head. "No, nothing like that. They think that I'm on their side, even if I am friends with you. But they thought that you had told me a lie, and that I had believed it. Because if you were working for Easter, then it would be to your advantage to divide up the Guardians by making them think that Kairi was a bad guy."

I wasn't exactly surprised, since I had known this was a possibility. Still, I certainly hadn't been expecting this. Truth be told, I hadn't thought that Kairi would have been able to continue the lie when the Guardians were told the truth so directly. "So how did Kairi react when you said that he was working for Easter?"

"He said that it wasn't true," Mai said, looking down at the ground. "And the other Guardians believed him."

"So did they believe anything you told them?" I asked.

Still looking down, Mai said, "They weren't sure what to believe."

"But no need to worry!" Suzume interjected brightly. "They'll believe it eventually, I'm sure!"

_Maybe_, I thought to myself, not sure whether they'd ever trust me again or not. Not like I wanted them to trust me; I was still trying to be a dragon, and the more distance I could put between myself and them, the better. "So what about you?" I asked Mai. "Did they ask you to join the Guardians?"

"They did," Mai replied. "But... I declined."

"Why?" I asked, though I had a good guess.

"Well..." Mai started, but then Suzume interrupted.

"She's too shy!" the chara said. "Which isn't a bad thing, I guess. But you should be more bold in life, Mai-chan! You'll experience so much more!"

"But then everyone at school would pay attention to every little thing I do. That would be too strange." Mai argued. Then, turning back to me, she said, "I did offer to help out the Guardians with anything concerning shugo charas and Easter and those kinds of things. That is, if there even is anything I can do - as nice as my chara-change is, the only thing it might be able to do is talk an X-egg into submission."

I laughed at the joke, and thought that maybe she was right; her chara-change didn't exactly seem all that suited for battle. Then again, the pen is supposedly mightier than the sword, in which case her words might have more impact she could guess. "Well, sorry to leave you like this, but Easter will be angry if I don't get any X-eggs. Especially since there are supposed to be more than usual tonight," I said, remembering that the perfume was supposed to be on sale today. Which, by the way, still seemed like a stupid idea to me.

"Why's that?" asked Mai.

I debated how much to tell her. She was working with the Guardians now, and I couldn't go revealing Easter's plans. Especially considering my fear of what more punishment would do to me. That thought in particular threw the matter into a different perspective, and I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. "Sorry, but I'd better not reveal it. Anyway, I'll see you later." I looked around to make sure that no one was watching, and then I character transformed and flew off.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Mai called after me.

To my surprise, within the first five minutes or so of flying, I easily found a couple of eggs. Apparently, the perfume was more effective than I had suspected. There still weren't as many eggs as there were that first few days of the CD's, but there were noticeably more than I'd seen the last day or two. It was a nice change of pace, and it made the job a bit more satisfying. Even if I was being forced to do it.

"You know, Mai was lying when she was talking to you earlier," Azami said after we'd been at the job for a while.

"Huh?" I said. "Why would she do that?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Azami said. "But she wasn't telling the truth about Kairi."

_Well, if anyone would be able to tell a lie from the truth, it's Azami. _"So what was she covering up?" I asked.

"Could be a couple of things," Azami replied. "My best guess is that maybe she's trying to convince Kairi to quit working for Easter before she tells the Guardians. She probably doesn't want him to be exiled from the Guardians, like you were. Stupid reason to lie, in my opinion. Then again, I guess stupid people tend to say stupid things."

A sudden gust of wind forced me to regain my flight balance, forcing me to ignore the insult. Once I was flying steadily again, I said, "Why else do you think she might be lying?"

"Wait - aren't you angry that she's lying to you in the first place?" Azami said, sounding somewhat frustrated.

"No. After all, we agreed that it would probably be necessary," I said. It occurred to me that maybe everything Azami was saying right now was just to get me angry at Mai. After all, it was no secret that my chara hated the fact that I was friends with anybody. Still, it was very possible that Mai really had been lying, and I just hadn't realized it. "So right now, I'm just curious what she could be lying about. So what are your other theories?" I asked.

Azami paused for a couple of seconds as some more X-eggs joined my already decent-sized group. Then she answered, "Maybe Kairi is threatening her to keep quiet. It seems a bit dishonorable for someone like him, but he might do it if his sister told him to. Or maybe Kairi is going triple-agent, so that he's actually a good guy now. Though if that was the case, I don't see why he would have told his sister that his identity was about to be discovered. I'm sure he knew we would be punished in some way, and unless he was totally devoted to his sister's biddings, he wouldn't have done that."

"Maybe he's just trying to throw us off the scent?" I suggested. "You know, to make it less likely that either us or Easter would guess what he's up to."

"I doubt he's devious enough to come up with that, or execute such a plan," Azami replied.

Another X-egg joined the ranks, and I realized that I had enough X-eggs for today. I turned and started flying towards Easter, then said, "We'll probably find out eventually what's going on. Who knows? Maybe they've already figured out a way to break Easter's hold on me."

"I highly doubt it," Azami said. I sighed; sadly enough, she was probably right.

* * *

Later that night, the Darkness came back. Not for any particular reason, except that I was thinking about what had happened this past weekend. I didn't like the idea of me possibly going insane, and it was hard to shake the thought. It made the threat of punishment from Easter even more effective, whether Easter realized it or not. Even when I woke up from that spasm of Darkness, I still couldn't concentrate on much. Even if I was never punished again, the very threat might be enough to drive me more than a little mad. I started to question whether I'd be able to go on for much longer like this.

But whether I could or could not, I had to try.

* * *

Yet again, I'm sorry this took so long. I just can't get motivated. I'm thinking about maybe starting another story alongside this one, in hopes that it will get me pumped about writing in general, which might in turn re-motivate me to write this. The reason I haven't done this sooner is because I've seen plenty of fanfic authors start one fic, then start another when they get tired of the first, and eventually completely stop writing the first. I don't think you'll have to worry about me concerning this; I'm too stubborn and I've put too much time into this to give up on it. It just bothers me that I'm not getting much written.

So... yeah. I'm sorry yet again, but I really don't think there's anything I can do directly to motivate myself. I'm either motivated or I'm not. Taking this into consideration, I have no guesstimate as to how long it might take me another chapter, so sorry again...


	17. Battle Number 2!

The school buzzed with excitement about the upcoming Easter music festival. It would probably be one of the biggest events of the year, and anyone who managed to get a hold of a ticket was automatically one of the most popular kids in class. However, in the week following the announcement, Mai seemed to be avoiding the topic. Which alone made me guess that the Guardains were on to Easter's plans. I wanted to ask Kairi, just to make sure that my guess was correct, but he was avoiding me. Which I guess made sense; after all, if the Guardians saw him and me together, then they might start to reconsider what Mai had told them. That didn't bother me too much. I could wait to see what the Guardians were doing.

What_ did_ bother me was the Darkness. Even before I got more X-energy on Saturday, I had a problem with it at least every other night. And when I did get more X-energy, it only got worse. Perhaps I wasn't completely overcome any more often than usual, but its presence became more constant.

But I'd gone through this before, and it always faded somewhat as time passed. I just hoped that it would go away sooner rather than later.

Anyway, that was how I passed the two weeks before Easter's big scheme. Alternating between school (where I was somewhat happy with Mai around), catching X-eggs (which at least kept me busy), and Darkness (which was obviously unpleasant). But eventually, the next Saturday came. And – if my guess was correct – it would be the day of my second battle with the Guardians.

* * *

"So will you finally explain what this 'new equipment' that will draw out X-eggs is?" I asked Yukari. It was the morning of the festival, and all around me, people were scurrying from place to place, frantically making last-minute preparations before the first performers started playing at noon.

We were in a park – the largest park in the city, actually – in a massive clearing that was often used for events like this. I'd been here a couple of times before; in fact, this was where the Utau concert had been when Mai, the Guardians, and me had all been there. It was a great park, and a great day to be in it. The sun was shining, the temperature was practically perfect, and the breeze was calm and refreshing. Around the clearing the trees were well into their springtime growth, and just beyond a grove of trees on one side of the clearing, I could see sun glinting off the surface of a river as it slowly flowed through the park.

All in all, you would never have suspected that this would be the site where hundreds of people would get their dreams ripped out. That's irony for you.

Scenery aside, Yukari was too busy going through a checklist to pay any attention to my previous question. So I asked again. This time she heard me; she continued to go through her checklist as she explained, "It's the sound system; all the speakers and microphones were made from X-eggs. They'll act normally for all of our regular singers, but when Utau puts X-energy into her singing, that energy will be amplified to unbelievable levels. Your smoke effects will also help."

"So what am I supposed to do now?" I asked, looking around at all of the people setting up lighting and speakers and who knows what else.

For a moment it seemed like Yukari hadn't heard. I was about to repeat my question again when she finally answered, "Just hang around here until the concert starts. I suggest you wait backstage, so you don't get mixed in with the crowds when they come. Black Diamond's performance will be the final performance, so you can just enjoy the music until then. Kairi said the Guardians were coming, so if they start causing trouble, you can help Kairi and Ikuto deal with them."

"Ikuto is here?" I asked, surprised. I'd seen Kairi around, helping his sister out with all the set up, but I hadn't noticed Ikuto.

Yukari shrugged. "He's somewhere around here. I'm sure he'll come when he's called; he may act wild, but he's tame enough when Easter needs him to be." This last comment puzzled me, but I didn't inquire any farther.

I wandered around for a little while, watching as all the different equipment got set up. As Yukari had suggested, I went backstage before the crowd was let in. For a while, I listened to the songs being performed. But I got bored quickly; the first couple of groups really weren't that great, to be perfectly honest.

So I explored some more, and eventually found the trailers where all of the stars were staying, waiting to go out on stage. As I walked around, I realized that I recognized many of the people in this area; almost all of them had been in TV ads or billboards or something to that extent. Most of them were jerks; I didn't even need to talk to them to see that. Others were quite nice; one of the guys from P-TUN even talked with me for a bit.

"Hey, your name is Miyuki, right?" I heard from behind me as I continued to walk around. I turned to see Utau walking towards me, with Iru and Amu's diamond chara trailing after her.

"Uh, yeah," I said, not bothered that she was avoiding honorifics. Or bothered that she really didn't remember me that well; we'd barely talked to each other before, after all.

"Is Ikuto here?" Utau asked, getting straight to the point.

"Nice to see you, too," I said sarcastically, then continued, "I'm not sure. Yukari told me he was, but I haven't seen him."

Utau looked around for a moment, as if Ikuto might come jumping out of one of the trees nearby. Which, knowing him, was completely possible. "If you see him, tell him to come by my trailer," Utau said. Apparently done with the conversation, she turned as if to leave. But Dia floated towards me, and Utau turned back around to see what the X-chara was doing.

Dia continued to float forward until she was just a couple inches from my face. She looked at me for several long moments. Then, solemnly, she said, "Your radiance is fading. Very soon, it will vanish completely."

Her words sounded ominous, and the way she talked – emptily, yet with purpose – was enough to give me goose bumps. But more than anything, I was confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking from her to Utau to her again.

"Shadows are wearing you down," Dia replied. "They will continue to eat away at you until all your light is gone."

_Umm… okay? That's really not any clearer than the first thing you said._ I thought.

"Get to the point!" Azami said, opening her wings to make herself look bigger. "What are you trying to say? That we're not strong?"

"She's almost worse than Eru, in her own way," Iru commented, agreeing with Azami's frustration.

Dia ignored Iru and turned to Azami. "You can sense it, too, whether you wish to or not." And with that, Dia floated back over to Utau.

I looked to Utau to see if she could explain it, but all I got in reply was the faintest of shrugs. "Just remember to tell Ikuto that I'm waiting for him," Utau said before going back to her trailer.

"What is it that Dia says you can sense, Azami?" I asked as Iru, Dia, and Utau going away.

Azami crossed her arms, clearly agitated. "I don't have any idea what she was talking about." I got the feeling that maybe Azami was lying, but I could tell that she wasn't going to talk about whatever Dia had meant.

The rest of the day passed quickly. I got lunch and dinner from some food vendors that had set up shop to get some quick business from the festival. A lot of the music was really good, and I spent much the day listening. I had an all-access pass, so I could go basically anywhere I wanted, which was kinda cool.

It was dark by the time Hoshina Utau's performance (not her Black Diamond performance) started. I loved her music as much as I always had, and for once, I could concentrate on the songs instead of on collecting X-eggs. Since she didn't chara-change while singing, no X-eggs appeared. Which was fine with me; the way Yukari had made it sound, I'd have more than enough X-eggs to deal with once Black Diamond performed.

Through all of this, I saw neither Ikuto nor the Guardians. I continued to see Kairi around, but he was avoiding me. Despite what had happened two weeks ago, I really wished he would talk to me. I didn't particularly blame him for what had happened; not that I was trying to be forgiving or anything. It's just that Yukari was the one who pressed the button, not him. And, surprisingly, I didn't even blame her for it. Generous of me, I know.

It was nearly midnight when the announcer went out on stage and said, "Now, is everyone ready for the hot new group that has just signed a contract with Easter?"

The crowd roared. I tensed. I was already character-transformed and in my position. I was above the stage, standing on the catwalk that was usually only used for light maintenance.

"Then would you please put your hands together for… Black Diamond!" The announcer hurried off stage as the crowd went practically ballistic with excitement. Then the light shut completely off. This was my cue. I conjured up my Hopeless Haze, then sent it downward. It fell onto the stage in great billows, which in turn went off onto the crowd. Of course, the audience loved it.

Then some lights came on, illuminating the smoke as it curled and writhed in the night air. Finally, the music started playing, and I parted the smoke to reveal that Black Diamond was now on stage.

The crowd screamed with almost deafening intensity. But then, right before Utau would have started singing-

It stopped.

The music, that is. The speakers just all of a sudden shut off. The crowd suddenly quieted down, unsure of what was happening. The band members looked around at each other, obviously confused. Utau looked furious that her song had been interrupted.

Suddenly, the announcer came on stage. "Sorry, but there's been a technical malfunction. We'll get it fixed and get back to you in just a couple minutes." The crowd booed in response; they'd been waiting for this group all night. Utau and her band went offstage. Guessing that there would be trouble, I flew down backstage, making sure to land in a corner where I wouldn't be seen. Then I changed back to my normal form and set off to look for Yukari.

I found Yukari easily. She was in a rage about something, shouting out orders and waving something around in her hand. As I got closer, I noticed that what she was waving around was the ends of several cords that went to the mikes and instruments on stage. Except that it shouldn't have been the ends of the cord; someone had cut it.

When Yukari saw me walking towards her, she immediately shouted out orders, obviously venting some of her anger on me. "Get yourself back up to your position! I've got Ikuto and Kairi down here to make sure that the Guardians don't try to do something like this again! When Black Diamond is announced again, start us the smoke effects until they start playing."

I nearly shouted back at her, but Azami spoke before I could yell anything. "So it was the Guardians?" my chara asked.

"It had to be them! They must have sent one of their charas to cut the line; otherwise everyone would have seen the culprit!" Yukari suddenly took a deep breath. She was clearly still annoyed, but she at least brought her voice down now. "We've got more of our special microphones, so that won't be a problem. Just get back up there, now, so that we can start up again as soon as possible.

"All right, all right," I said, backing away. Once I was pretty sure I was out of sight of everyone, I changed back to my chara-nari and took my position above the stage.

As I waited, I sighed. "Kind of sad, that I'm little more than a fog machine right now.

"You could say that," Azami answered from within me. "Or you could say that you're above hundreds of people, and that they could be at your mercy if you wanted them to be."

"True," I replied, just as the announcer came back on stage. He apologized for the inconvenience, then the whole thing started again. The smoke came, then the instruments started playing, and then finally Utau's voice rang through the speakers.

And man, had those scientists been right about the power. Those speakers sent out a pulse of X-energy so strong that I nearly fell off the catwalk in my surprise. I was probably one of the few who consciously felt it, though. The roar of the crowd died down rapidly as the effects of the X-energy made themselves known. And then, of course, the X-eggs came out. Before the first verse was finished, I guessed that over a hundred eggs had been pulled out of the crowd. And more just kept on coming.

As the first refrain was ending, a pink blur shot out of the crowd, right at Utau. The Heart Rod hit Utau's hand and knocked the microphone away from her. Utau's band stopped playing, looking unsurprised at this turn of events. In fact, they looked like they had been affected by the song as much as the crowd had been.

The crowd had been so influenced by the music that when four kids dressed as a clown, a cheerleader, a baby, and a king pushed through the crowd, they didn't so much as turn to look. The stage crew was similarly inattentive. I guessed that, out of everyone who was within hearing distance of those speakers, the Guardians, Ikuto, Kairi, Utau, Yukari, and I were probably the only ones still truly awake.

Amu went ahead of the rest of the Guardians, jumping over the crowd and directly onto the stage. "Utau, please stop this," Amu said. "I've talked with you before; I know you're not like this. Do you really think it's okay to do this to hundreds of people?" Amu looked up to the immense cloud of X-eggs that hovered over the crowd.

Utau smirked. "Haven't we had this conversation before? It doesn't matter if what you do is right or wrong; all that matters is that you win."

Dia came forward now, just like how she had confronted me a few hours ago. "Have you found your radiance yet, Amu?" she asked softly. "Have you found out why I should lend you my strength?"

"Well…" Amu hesitated. "I want to do the right thing. I want to stop all of the suffering that Easter causes."

"Is that truly what you desire most?" Dia questioned.

Amu wasn't able to answer.

Without another word, Dia went back to Utau. As soon as she was back, they character-transformed, becoming Dark Jewel.

In the meantime, the rest of the Guardians had made it up onto the stage. And, to my surprise, it wasn't just the Guardians. They had brought Mai along. And in addition to her, Kukai was with them.

Yukari, Kairi, and Ikuto had all lined up behind Utau. As Utau transformed, I flew down and joined them, landing right next to Kairi. Ikuto was already transformed, and Kairi was chara-changed.

Now Eru came forward. "Utau, don't do this! It's not a bad thing to be nice!"

"So how do you explain how weak you are?" Utau countered.

"Eru isn't weak," Tadase said. "She has more strength than you know. Because when she acts, she knows what she's doing is right."

"I'd say that's about enough of this," Yukari interrupted. "I think it's time the Guardians learned that it's rude to interrupt a concert."

I prepared to launch myself forward, but it was actually Kairi who was the first to act. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Guardians he attacked; it was me. Unprepared, I found his wooden katana slamming into my head. I fell away from the blow to soften it some, and I was pretty sure that if I hadn't been in my chara-nari, that blow would have been enough to give me a bad concussion. Even considering that I was character-transformed, I still wasn't sure that I had avoided injury.

I struggled back up to give Kairi the beating he deserved, but he'd already walked over to the Guardians.

"Kairi, what are you doing?" Yukari asked. "Get back over here this instant!"

"Please forgive me, Yukari," Kairi replied. "But I cannot keep on doing as you say."

Yukari looked ready to explode, and yet she managed to keep her voice calm. "Then Ikuto, Miyuki, and Utau will just have to teach you a lesson, along with the rest of the Guardians."

This seemed to be our cue. "Shining Black!" Utau shouted, sending her barrage of dark shards towards the Guardians. My head was pounding, so I couldn't do much at the moment, but my thoughts immediately went to Mai. She couldn't chara-nari. What would happen if she got caught up in this battle?"

"Holy Crown!" Tadase shouted. As he shielded the rest of the Guardians from the attack, I saw him shouting something back to them. To my relief, Kukai grabbed Mai and rocket-boarded her to the back of the crowd, where she would hopefully be out of harm's way. He came back right as Utau ended her attack and Ikuto launched himself forward.

Tadase wasn't ready to defend again. Instead, Kairi stepped forward, despite the fact that he didn't have a character transformation.

Right before Ikuto would have hit Kairi, Amu's Humpty Lock started glowing brightly. I'd seen this kind of thing before, and even through the pounding headache, I knew what was happening: Kairi was character-transforming.

But I was too close. The light was hitting me, and it did not feel pleasant. I launched myself away, over the crowd. Flying only made the throbbing of my head worse, but I did my best to ignore it. When I finally turned around, Kairi was totally different. He was dressed in a light-green samurai outfit, complete with two katanas and a veil-like thing for decoration. To be completely honest, I thought he looked amazing. Though maybe that was because any outfit with swords looks cool to me.

The battle had paused only briefly while Kairi had transformed. Now they were back to fighting. Ikuto was dealing with Tadase and Kairi – rather successfully, I might add – while Utau was fighting the rest of the Guardians. And as strong as Utau was, fighting Rima, Amu, Kukai, and Yaya together seemed to be a bit much. And if I didn't help out, I was pretty sure that a concussion would be the least of my worries.

"Blazing Rain!" I shouted, doing my best to aim at only the Guardians. Apparently, my aim wasn't too bad, even with a headache; Utau managed to get away relatively unscathed, while the Guardians took a few seconds to regain their footing. I grinned. Even if it was being used against the Guardians, power like this felt good.

Amu and Rima exchanged a meaningful glance. Then, in unison, they attacked. Amu's Heart Rod headed straight towards Utau, and I found myself confronted with six or seven juggling pins. Utau used her Shining Black attack to keep the Heart Rod away, but I didn't think I could launch my fire attack quickly enough to counter Rima's pins.

So I jumped up and off of the stage, using my wings to bring me above the action. The pins followed me, but this had given me enough time to prepare my attack. I threw some of my dark fire at them, and they were incinerated on the spot.

Then I heard Kukai's voice from right above me. "Sorry about this, Miyuki." Then, before I could even look up or fly away or defend myself, I felt his board slam into the small of my back. Pain shot through me, and my wings went limp. I fell down towards the ground, unable to do anything.

_So they actually had a plan this time_, I managed to think through the pain. _Rima distracted me with her Juggling Party while Kukai got above me. _But that wasn't the end of it. Just as I was bracing myself for impact with the stage, ropes started wrapping around me, so tightly that I found it hard to breathe. As soon as I was securely encased, the ropes yanked me sideways, slamming me into one of the metal supports that held the lights above the stage. Some of the ropes around me loosened, then tied themselves around the support.

Rima came over to me. The ropes were hers, of course; that was easy enough to guess. I struggled against the ropes, trying desperately to get them off. But I was fighting a losing battle. My head pounded the more I exerted myself, and the pain in my back wasn't going away. Not to mention, the ropes were still tight to the point where breathing was difficult.

If I could just get away from the battle for a couple minutes… Then maybe the pain would subside, and I would be able to think and act a bit more clearly.

"So what are you going to do now?" I asked Rima. "Hit me over the head with a juggling pin? That's what I would do if I were you." Maybe if I could make Rima angry enough, she'd do something stupid. And if she did something stupid, maybe it would give me a chance to get away.

Rima just glared. It occurred to me that I might be able to burn off the ropes… but I wasn't a hundred percent sure that I'd go unburned. I'd just have to think of a better plan.

I looked over at where the battle was still going on. Ikuto was still holding his own against Tadase and Kairi, though all three looked a bit worn out. Utau was still having problems, though she was holding up better now that Rima had to concentrate on me.

Then, suddenly, Amu ceased fighting. "Dia! I think I know why I need your strength!"

Utau stopped as Dia came out of her, ending the transformation. Dia said nothing, but she waited expectantly. Tadase, Ikuto, and Kairi continued to fight.

Amu continued. "I don't want to hurt other people. Especially my friends. Yet I keep on hurting them anyway…" She looked over at Utau, then at Ikuto, and finally over at me. "But I do all that because I just want to help my friends, in whatever way I can! That's why I need your strength!"

"You're certain this is why?" Dia asked unfeelingly.

Amu nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."

Dia glowed brightly for a brief second. When the light faded, the X-Dia was no longer there. Instead, a much cheerier version of Dia – with pigtails and a bright yellow outfit – was there. "That is what you truly want, Amu-chan," Dia said, smiling happily. "And for that, I will lend you my strength."

Ran came out of Amu as her Amulet Heart chara-nari ended. Then Amu began to glow as Dia came up to her, and a new transformation started. When the transformation ended, Amu was dressed in a light yellow outfit, which flared out at the ends of the arms and legs. Her hair was up in pigtails, and she had a little microphone that came down from her headband. Two big yellow pieces of cloth hung from her shoulders, almost like wings. All in all, it was a very cheery-looking outfit. Personally, I still liked Amulet Spade better.

"Chara-nari: Amulet Diamond!" Amu said.

For a moment, I felt my bonds loosen as Rima let herself be distracted by all that was going on. I brought my own attention back to my situation. I struggled silently for a moment, and nearly managed to get my arms free. Rima heard me, though, and the ropes went tighter than ever. So much for escaping while she wasn't paying attention.

In the meantime, Amu was having a heartwarming conversation with Utau, probably trying to get her to go back to the side of good or something. I ignored it. It was really making me angry that I was at the mercy of Rima, and I didn't want to stay tied up for long.

I scanned the area to see if there was anything that could help me, and I almost laughed when I did finally see a way out of my current predicament. How I didn't think of it before, I didn't know. It was so glaringly obvious that I must have been an idiot to not notice it before now.

But just as I was about to escape, something else happened with Utau that made me pause and watch. She was character-transforming. But when the light faded, the chara-nari wasn't with Iru, as I would have expected. Rather, it was with Eru.

Or, at least, I guessed it was with Eru. Utau now looked exactly like an angel (all she really needed was a halo), and I figured that must have been from Eru. It looked like Amu really had converted Utau to the side of good, after all. I half envied her; the only reason she had been with Easter until now was her own choice. I didn't have that choice any longer.

I made a quick mental assessment of the situation. It was now only Ikuto and myself on the side of Easter. Versus Amu, Utau, Kukai, Yaya, Rima, Kairi, and Tadase as good guys. Not to mention, I was in some serious pain and currently tied up, and Ikuto was wearing down fast. Things didn't look very good.

Yukari apparently had the same idea. "Miyuki, get the X-eggs and get back to Easter!" she shouted as she made her escape backstage. No one tried to stop her; on her own, she really couldn't do very much.

I knew what would happen if I failed. More punishment. Even though it shouldn't be my fault; I was already in a bad situation, and Yukari knew it. But as long as I could get free and get the X-eggs away, it'd be fine. Ikuto was already making his escape, so I was on my own. Which was fine by me: I already had a plan.

"X-eggs! Get your lazy shells over here!" I shouted before anyone could do anything to stop me. A rope quickly slapped itself over my mouth to keep me from talking anymore, but it was already too late. The X-eggs all zoomed over towards me, encircling me and creating a sort of shield between me and the rest of the world. Rima was knocked down, and the ropes loosened enough that I was able to shake them off.

But my wings still felt numb; maybe Kukai had hit a nerve when he slammed me with his board. I didn't trust myself flying. Yet even as I thought this, the pain in my back and head faded. The aches weren't gone, but they were at least reduced enough that I could think a bit more clearly. The X-energy from all the X-eggs was filling me, making my pains feel insignificant.

And my wings felt better; enough that I figured it would be safe to fly. I launched myself into the air, and the X-eggs followed me. Now my only problem was out-flying Kukai and Amu and possibly Utau. But that wouldn't be a problem; I had a whole army of X-eggs to help me fight them, after all.

But things are never that easy for me.

I was barely fifty feet away from the stage when a voice started singing. The melody had no words, but it was a beautiful sound. Angelic, you might say. I would have ignored it, but I new immediately that something was wrong. The X-eggs were slowing down, and I felt the energy draining out of me. My headache quickly came back, as did the pain between my wings.

I didn't need to turn around to see who was doing it; this had to be Utau using Eru's power. The eggs around me were yawning now (if something without a mouth can actually yawn), and one by one, they started to change back to regular hearts' eggs.

And I was fading fast. Not only was the pain coming back, but also the X-energy that normally kept me going was all but gone. I wobbled in flight, causing me to lose some altitude. "Get away from here!" Azami shouted from within me. "We're not going to be able to stay transformed at this rate!"

I tried to speed it up, but all that did was send a wave of pain through my entire body. And then, just as Azami had predicted, the chara-nari disappeared. I fell, though my brain was so foggy by then that I hardly realized it. If I hit the ground after falling from so high up, I would die, no doubt about it.

As I fell, I heard a buzzing, like from a motor at a distance. I would have looked to see what it was, but my sight was blacking out. The buzzing got closer and closer, and at the edge of my consciousness I wondered what it could be.

Then, just before I would have started crashing into the trees, Kukai caught me. His board was what I had heard. I didn't have a chance to thank him, though. Maybe it was because of the head injury, or the pain, or the energy-draining song. But whatever the reason, I'd already passed out.

* * *

I woke up in my bed, with light streaming through the windows. I was alone in my room, not counting Azami, who was still asleep. It took me a minute to remember why my head was pounding or why my back hurt so much. It took me another minute to figure out why I wasn't dead. Then, despite myself, I smiled and said,

"Darn Guardians. Even when they've got a perfectly legitimate chance to let an enemy die, they save me and bring me home instead. They're too good for their own good."

But I was grateful. Even if my life stunk, at least I was still alive.

* * *

Hey, it only took ten days to get this chapter out! Much better than the last couple of chapters. Thank you, thanksgiving break!

I was sort of disappointed that I didn't get more psyched about this chapter... it should've been more fun to write than it was. Although I really did like rereading it as I proofread, so it's all good. Anyway, I'm kinda lazy, so I'm not going to say much right now. I will reveal this, though: now that Utau's out of the picture, Easter only has two other people with charas working for them. Which probably means that Miyuki (and maybe Ikuto as well) may be forced to do a lot more...


	18. Departure

Author's Note: After a hiatus of over a year, this story is finally making a comeback! I'll say more after the chapter, but for the moment, all you need to know is that this story is picking back up right where it left off. If you've forgotten where it left off, I suggest rereading the last chapter or two to refresh your memory.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I'd been hit by a car. And then hit in the head with a bat. And then beaten to a pulp by a gang of bears. Yeah, it was bad. Unsurprisingly, the pounding headache and overall soreness got worse as I walked to Mai's house that afternoon. It's not like I wanted to be up and about. Even if I hadn't been in agony, the humiliation of that defeat last night (outnumbered though I had been) would have been enough to keep me in bed for at least a day or two. New circumstances had arisen since I'd gotten up, however, and I had to talk to Mai or someone before things went any farther.

_From the way Kazuomi made things sound in his call this morning, _I thought, _this might be my last chance to talk to any of my friends, both former and current._

Mai's mom opened the door when I knocked, which surprised me. She was usually never home when I came over. I racked my muddled brain, trying to remember what day it was. _Yesterday… Yesterday was Saturday, right? It couldn't have been a weekday, I think. So it's gotta be Sunday. I hope._

"Hi, is, um, Mai home?" I asked. If this was a school day, then this exchange would turn really awkward, really fast. I glanced over to Azami to reassure myself, but she looked out of it as well; I wouldn't be able to depend on her for anything right now.

She smiled courteously. "Yes she is, and nice to see you, Eve. But you look rather out of it… Were you part of the group Mai went with last night?"

"Uh, yeah," I struggled to answer. My mind felt very confused; maybe I'd gotten a concussion after all, even despite the fact that I'd been character-transformed when I was hit.

Mai suddenly appeared behind her mother. "Miyuki! I'm so glad to see you're all right!" Her mother looked at her strangely, so she tried to come up with a lie. "Well, you see, um…"

"Mai, I've got it!" Suzume said cheerily from Mai's shoulder. "Chara-change!"

Apparently neither Suzume's nor Mai's good natures impeded their storytelling abilities from translating into convincing lies. Mai's chara-change pencil appeared behind her ear and she said cheerily, "She bumped her head last night while fighting the crowds. She'd said she was fine, but I'm still glad to see her up and about again."

"Oh, I see," Mai's mother said. "Anyway, I'll leave you two alone. Would you like some tea at all?"

"Yes, please," Mai said when her chara-change ended, embarrassed and ashamed by the sudden lie. Mai's mom went off to the kitchen without another word, and Mai led the way to her room.

As soon as I got into the room, I flung myself down on Mai's bed. I wasn't going to beat around the bush with politeness right now. I was too tired to bother with that. Then again, I was rarely polite to anyone, so perhaps that wasn't much of a surprise.

"Are you two all right? You look terrible," Mai said to Azami and I, not bothering to hide that I looked exactly as I felt.

"Of course we're not all right," Azami grumbled as she settled herself down on my stomach. "We got destroyed last night. You could have told the Guardians to be a bit more gentle. And thanks to that attack of Utau's, we don't have the usual X-energy to help keep our energy up."

Mai slumped slightly in the chair she was sitting in. "I'm sorry, Miyuki. I really am. But we had to do it. We couldn't just let you get away with all those eggs. That would have been horrible." She paused as if finished, but then she suddenly brightened and said, "But wait – Azami just said Utau's attack got rid of the X-energy, right? So does that mean you're free from Easter's control?"

I started shaking my head, but quickly stopped. That was too much unnecessary motion for my aching brain. "No dice, though that would have made last night worth every ache and pain. But I can still feel it in me. I don't think I can get rid of it that easily. I'm not like an X-egg; from what the people at Easter said, it sounds like the X-energy is part of my soul or something. Whatever the case, it's still there."

"Aw…" Suzume said. "I was hoping for a happy ending… But there's still plenty of time for that! The journey is half the fun!"

"I'll show you just how fun a journey can be…" Azami grumbled from her place on my stomach, obviously not amused as Suzume flew around in circles above me.

Mai grabbed Suzume out of the air. "This is not the time, Suzume. Anyway, Miyuki… Do you need to go to a hospital at all? I'm sure my mom would be willing to drive us there."

"No, I actually didn't come to talk about that. I think. I'm not thinking all that clearly right now… Anyway, what was I saying?" Before Mai could respond, I remembered. "Oh, yeah. Here's the thing. The director of Easter called me this morning, and told me to pack my bags. He won't tell me what's up, but I'm going to be picked up later this evening to go somewhere. He said all the logistics are already taken care of, including my transfer away from Seiyo. I was too tired to pursue the subject much, but… I'm afraid I probably won't be able to see you for a while."

Mai was too shocked to respond for a minute. Suzume got impatient, and chara changed to force out a reaction. Mai's blue pencil appeared behind her ear as she blurted out, "But you can't go! What'll happen to you if the Guardian's aren't around at all to keep Easter in check? Easter might force you to take even more X-energy, and that can't be good!"

"You think I don't know that?" I replied tersely as Mai's chara change ended. "To be perfectly honest, I'm afraid."

"Miyuki!" Azami exclaimed. "If you're scared, then keep it to yourself. Don't broadcast it to the world."

I rolled over on Mai's bed to face the wall, throwing Azami from my stomach. She fell onto the bed beside me, but she was too tired to retaliate. "What? It's true," I responded. "I never thought Easter would control my life _this_ much. I might never get it back at this rate. I already talked to my parents to try to get them to fix things, but they said the paperwork had already been filed. Easter convinced them to fill it out a couple days ago. I'm apparently enrolled in some one-on-one tutoring program that Easter has for gifted kids. It's free, but anyone who commits to it has to go through with it for at least one full year of schooling. With that contract, I could be legally forced to be in the program until the end of next year… If I'm even still around then. I'm so tired right now, I almost don't care."

Mai frowned. "Don't say that… We'll figure out something. Like… Um… Oh, I know. Are you sure I can't tell the Guardians about how Easter is controlling you? I bet they could help us think. Or maybe… What if Amu tried to purify you? If she could get rid of the X-energy, then Easter shouldn't be able to control your actions anymore, tutoring contract or no."

I shuddered at the thought. "No way. The very light from her stupid Humpty Lock burns like fire, and that's when it's pointed at things other than me. And I just have this instinct that it would turn out badly. It might cleanse me, but what if it doesn't? Are X-eggs in pain when they get cleansed, like I would be?"

"I don't really know. Other than Utau's song last night, I haven't seen a cleansing," Mai replied.

"Oh, yeah. I keep on forgetting you haven't had a chara for long. Anyway, if you're ever with Amu and she cleanses an egg, than watch the egg carefully. They always seem rather relieved to me."

Suzume floated down to Azami and grabbed her hand, enthusiastically trying to pull her into the air with her. "What about Azami?" the chara asked as she let go of Azami's hand, just in time to avoid getting slashed by Azami's nails. "Azami, do you get hurt by the light, too?"

"I only get hurt through the pain Miyuki feels," Azami practically growled, glowering at Suzume as she zipped around; the dragon chara was waiting for the right time to strike at the annoyingly happy chara. "Even so, I don't think cleansing me would help, if that's what you're thinking. It doesn't feel safe. It would just be a little more indirect than hitting Miyuki right on, and we've already established that that would be a bad idea."

A knock came at the door, and Mai's mom came in. She handed a glass to each of us; I sat up so that I wouldn't spill mine. Mai thanked her, but I couldn't work up the sincerity to even pretend to have any gratitude.

As soon as she was gone, I stood up. "Anyway, sorry to toss all my troubles on your shoulders. I'll figure something out. But I just thought that if anyone had the right to know, it's you."

"Wait – are you sure you can't get your parents to break the contract?" Mai asked. "Break the hypnotism and tell them that they signed you up for some tutoring program that you don't want to do."

"I tried to break it, but can't. I don't even know where to begin when it comes to un-hypnotizing someone. And I've tried hypnotizing them into caring, but even that doesn't work. I don't think the work of several months can be undone with just one order, especially considering that I'm not exactly at the peak of my power right now," I said, my shoulders slumped. "Anyway, I've got to go. Easter is picking me up in a little under two hours, and I still haven't packed. I probably won't even be able to call you once I'm gone. After all, my phone belongs to Easter; they can probably tap the conversations easily enough."

"And you're sure you won't let me tell the Guardians about how Easter is forcing you to do stuff?" Mai asked. Her voice was steady, yet I dimly noticed that her eyes seemed unusually bright. She was on the verge of tears, but I was too exhausted to care or to even figure out what exactly she was sad about. If anything, I should've been the one crying.

I started walking towards the door. Azami flew up to my shoulder and promptly feigned sleep. "I'm sure," I responded. "I'll try to let you know somehow what's going on somehow, so be on the lookout for-"

Without any warning whatsoever, Mai suddenly got up out of her chair and hugged me. It was the strangest thing. And I was still so exhausted that I didn't know how to respond. Then again, even if I'd been in full health, I still don't think I could've responded with anything but stunned stiffness. I'd never really been close with anyone in particular, at least not for as far back as my memory went.

"Just don't make Easter too angry, all right?" Mai said, still hugging me as tightly as ever. "I don't want you to have to get hurt any more than you already have, even if it means that you take a lot of X-eggs from people." She suddenly let go and rubbed her eyes, though no tears had actually fallen. "Is that selfish of me, do you think?"

Azami pretended to gag. "Miyuki, I'm so sick of this! Chara-change!"

My eyes and necklace morphed to their red color, and I found myself saying, "Just forget I even came here. I was being stupid. At least, as stupid as a dragon can get. I can take care of my own problems. So have fun with your boring life, I guess." And with that, I walked out of the room and out of the house, not even bothering to acknowledge Mai's mother when she asked if I was leaving already.

It was only once I was out of the house that I went back to normal and had a chance to get angry at Azami. "What were you doing! That was not necessary at all. Mai did _not _deserve that treatment."

"Just shut it, Miyuki. She deserves whatever way you treat her. A dragon treats others however she wants. Or have you forgotten? Has friendship made you soft enough that you'll cry to Mai whenever Easter does something unexpected?"

I sighed. I couldn't stay angry, even though I felt like I should. "I don't even know anymore. I guess you're right. We'll figure out something."

Azami growled in frustration. "I swear I like you better when we're trying to fight off that stupid Darkness! At least you care about stuff then. What's wrong with you?"

"Same thing that was wrong with you earlier today," I said, looking at the ground as I walked down the sidewalk back to my house. "Guess you just recover more quickly. But Utau's song last night… I dunno. It took out the darkness, and I guess without that, I just don't have any energy anymore. Or maybe it was the song itself that's making me feel so out of it today. I'll go back to normal later, I'm sure. For now, let's just get home so I can get ready to leave."

It didn't take me long to pack. I chose my most practical outfits, added to that only the things I really needed, and I was more or less done. I also copied down all of the Guardians' contact info from my phone onto a sheet of paper. I didn't doubt that Easter might make me delete them from my phone, and while I didn't think I'd ever want to call anyone but Mai, I still thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

I was just finishing with that when a generic Easter henchman in a generic black car came to pick me up. I said bye to my parents on my way out without really thinking about it; they didn't even reply.

_Well, guess I'm not leaving much behind. Parents who I've forced not to care about me… Friends who now hate my very existence… Only Mai and possibly Amu still worry about me. I've really messed things up, haven't I? Or is this how a dragon's life should be?_

Those sort of thoughts were bouncing around my head during the drive over to Easter's main building. Once there, I was escorted to Kazuomi's office by another generic henchman, while the first generic henchman parked the car somewhere and presumably took my suitcase to wherever it needed to be.

As I entered Kazuomi's office, I saw that he wasn't the only person in the room. The three stupid scientists were in there as well.

"I'm glad you could join us, Yamada-san," Kazuomi said as soon as the henchman had left the room. "First of all, I believe I'll set your mind at ease somewhat by saying that you won't be punished for last night's failure. From what Sanjo-san tells me, you and Ikuto did your best to salvage the situation."

I was a bit relieved; I had been worried that I'd have to go through the pain of the X-energy practically ripping my soul in half.

He continued, "However, this has been a major setback for us. Almost all of the X-eggs we had stored up were used in creating the audio equipment for that performance. All of that equipment is now useless since Utau has terminated her contract with Easter.

"We need more X-eggs, to put it simply. And I understand it has become more difficult for you to harvest X-eggs from the people of this city, since all of the ones most easily acquired are the ones you have already taken. So we'll be sending you to other cities in Japan to harvest eggs. Think of it as a vacation for all the hard work you've done recently."

_Vacation? I doubt it. _"But how will that work? I'll be found out if I'm not going to school, and I somehow doubt that you actually have a recognized tutoring program."

Kazuomi scowled slightly. "Of course it's a real program. It's the same one that we accepted your sister into some years ago – that made the documentation all the more believable. It's easy for people to believe that if one sibling is smart, the other must be smart as well."

"Woah, wait. No disrespect meant, but… Sister? I don't have a sister," I said, thoroughly confused.

Kazuomi's earlier scowl turned into a glare. "I won't be made a fool of, Yamada-san."

"I'm being one hundred percent serious here," I said, some urgency entering my voice as I tried to make myself sound as convincing as possible. It wasn't hard, seeing as I was telling the truth. I would know if I had a sister. And I knew that I didn't have one. "Maybe the girl you're talking about was a different Yamada?"

"Either way, it's irrelevant, I suppose," Kazuomi said, still glaring at me suspiciously. "You were hit on the head last night, correct? Perhaps you need to see a doctor before you start collecting X-eggs again."

"My head hurts, but I don't think I got a concussion or anything," I said, though I was really wishing there was a chair I could sit in. "I don't need a doctor. Just tell me exactly what you're going to have me do, so that I don't have to keep on wondering about it."

"I'm glad to hear that you're so enthusiastic, Yamada-san," Kazuomi said as he let his scowling face shift to an evil grin. "Sanjo Yukari will be traveling with you to take care of food, finding hotels, and ultimately getting the eggs back to us. You'll stay in each town for as long as she feels is necessary. Then you'll move on. You'll come back here periodically to absorb more X-energy. That's all there is to it. In fact, if you have no questions, then these three-" he looked over at the three scientists, who were anxiously waiting at the side of the room, "-will give you some X-energy right away. After what happened last night, I'm sure you could use it."

I sighed, and decided to go out on a limb. "Actually, I'd rather not. Though it's gone away for now thanks to last night, I have trouble controlling the X-energy usually. I'm not sure how much more I can take."

Kazuomi frowned slightly, but not like he was upset; he seemed more intrigued than anything. "Really, Yamada-san? You're having problems with the X-energy? Have you told the scientists about this yet?" He looked over at the trio as if perhaps they'd hidden it from him; they all seemed to shrink beneath his gaze.

"No, I haven't."

"And why is that, Miyuki-san? Maybe because it's only now occurred to you that receiving more X-energy puts you farther under our influence? Are you just trying to keep yourself out of our control?" Kazuomi questioned, though in a tone that made it sound as if he didn't quite think that this was the answer.

Azami flapped her wings in annoyance and grumbled to me, "Like we're that stupid to only _just _realize that. Idiot."

I sighed. I was tired; to be honest, sleep sounded a lot better of a plan at the moment than continuing this conversation, even considering how vital it was. I was too tired to even say anything other than the truth. "Just pride on my part, I guess. Didn't want to admit that anything was wrong."

Kazuomi thought over the issue for a moment, or at least pretended to. Then he turned to the scientists and said, "You three heard what Yamada-san said. I expect a thorough analysis of the problem by tomorrow, and any implications it may have. For now, however, you will give her the X-energy as planned. All four of you-" and at this he turned back to me, "-are dismissed."

The three scientists hurried me out of the room and back down to their lab, obviously relieved to finally be out of their boss's view.

_I wonder why they were in there in the first place,_ I thought to myself as I mindlessly answered their questions about my issues with the X-energy. _Surely not just to escort me down; they must have had some business with Kazuomi beforehand. What, I wonder? Something else to do with me? Are they plotting something new?_

I took the X-energy without complaint. In fact, I was actually kind of grateful for the energy it gave me. And the new, small amount of energy managed to revive most of the X-energy that had been lying dormant since Utau's attack, giving me even more energy. Not only did the weariness dissipate, but the pain in my skull and the ache of my muscles also faded until they were little more than bad memories.

_I've got to admit,_ I thought to myself as Azami finished absorbing the energy into herself, _This X-energy may be a hassle sometimes, but it sure has its benefits._

With that energy came a revival of all the emotions that I should have had throughout the day. I was annoyed at myself, because my exhaustion had overcome my dignity and my pride since the moment I'd awoken. First I'd gone whining to Mai about my problems, and then I'd outright told Kazuomi my X-energy issue. Who knew how he might use that against me?

I quickly forgot about the past, though, and focused on the situation at hand. Once done with the whole X-energy thing, Yukari came to the lab; I hadn't really been expecting to see her, so I was a bit surprised. For once, she seemed rather distracted. She had a thin file folder in her hands, which she unconsciously moved back in forth in her mental agitation. She almost struggled with her words as she said, "All right, Miyuki. I'll show you to where you're staying for the night. Follow me."

Now that my energy was back to regular levels, my thoughts were running at a normal speed. And as we traveled up the elevator, my thoughts wandered to the question of what those formerly under Yukari's command would do, now that she was still working for Easter. "So what's up with you and Kairi now, seeing as he's not helping you any more? And what's going on with Utau?"

She didn't seem to hear at first, but after a few moments she answered, "Kairi's staying at my place until the end of his semester; he can take care of himself while I'm busy babysitting you. Not sure about Utau, but she's probably trying to get herself restarted as a singer. Not like she'll be able to much unless Easter lets her, of course. Anyway, this is your room."

Yukari used a card key and opened the door; a large, suite-like room revealed itself, complete with a kitchen and a living room area. A door led to another part of the veritable apartment, which I assumed contained the bed and bath. I guessed that the entire floor we were on was made up of rooms like this, even though we were still in the actual company building of Easter. After all, housing traveling businessmen here was probably cheaper and easier than having them stay at nearby hotels.

"Dinner will be brought up to you later tonight, so you really have no reason to leave your room," Yukari said as she stood in the doorway, letting me pass; she said it in a way that made me think that I was probably forbidden from leaving the room. "Be ready to leave at eight tomorrow morning. Oh, and this is for you." She handed me the file folder that she'd been carrying around this entire time. "Kazuomi suggested I dig up the file on your sister for you, for some reason."

She stopped talking then, but didn't leave the room. Instead, she looked at the wall, as if lost in thought. I eventually got tired of standing around, waiting for her to leave. "Anything else?"

She snapped back to her senses. "No, nothing else. Remember, eight in the morning." And with that, she slipped out of the room, leaving Azami and I alone in the suite.

"Well, go on! Open it!" Azami shouted at me as soon as Yukari was gone.

"All right, all right," I said, slowly walking over to the small table in the main room.

_I've got a bad feeling about this… But whatever. The file itself won't hurt me. It's just the information – true or not – that it contains that concerns me._

I opened the file and took out the first piece of paper; it was a general summary of the girl who was, according to Kazuomi, my sister.

I scowled as I looked over the information. "Well, all of the facts fit with someone who could be my sister, I guess. The name on here is Yamada Sara. They have my parents' names and info right – though that's not all that hard to find. It says Sara was born in the U.S... And since it also says that she was born thirteen years before me, my parents would have lived there at the time, so I guess that could be right… But thirteen years between me and her? That's a crazy long time for my parents to wait to have another kid. How does Kazuomi expect me to believe this? There isn't even a picture anywhere on here."

"But Kazuomi didn't seem like he was lying, and I would have been able to tell if he had been," Azami answered. I didn't reply as I continued to pour over the facts about the person, so Azami asked, "What if this is like that time when Ikuto warned us about the crystal? You completely forgot about that after a night's sleep, just because you didn't want to remember it. What if this is the same thing?"

I looked incredulously at Azami. "That was just weird, and I think it was just because of how sick I got. Maybe the fever was messing with my brain. Besides, how could I possibly forget a sister? And why would I?"

"You're eleven now, right? That means you would've been only seven or so when she left, which is pretty young," Azami retorted. "You ought to remember her even then, but maybe she was super mean or something, so you forced yourself to forget about her. I don't know. All I know is that Kazuomi definitely believed it, and the only thing that Yukari seemed to think was out of the ordinary about digging up the file was that it was so unnecessary."

"But all the comments on here from her tutors say that she was brilliant and the most charming child they'd ever taught. It hardly sounds like someone I'd need to force myself to forget. And what about pictures around the house? How come we don't have any with her in them? And why haven't my parents ever mentioned her?"

Azami flapped her wings in annoyance. "I don't know! That's what's bugging me. Maybe you hated that you weren't as smart and nice as those comments say, and maybe your parents realized that you hated her so much that they took down the pictures and never spoke of her with you around. Your parents have been hypnotized for as long as I've known them, so I don't know if they'd do that or not."

I thought about it for a moment. "If I'd thrown a big enough tantrum, I could actually imagine my parents putting away all the pictures and not talking about her. I was really fussy up until about age eight, and my parents usually gave in if I wanted them to. They were naturally pushovers – if not, I'd have been in boarding schools for misbehaved kids for about the last three years. I certainly caused enough trouble in my schools before Seiyo to deserve it."

"In that case, then so long as we take into account your previous memory loss, then it's at least possible that this sister exists," Azami said. "What else does the stuff in the file say about her? Maybe it'll jog your memory."

I looked over the information again. "She goes by her middle name, Kuroko, whenever she's in Japan… Sheesh, it says she learned, like, three languages while in the tutoring program here. She already knew English and Japanese, and she learned French, German, and Spanish. Looks like they keep track of their tutoring-program graduates even after they're gone, too – it says she goes to Harvard right now, and that she's in her last year of study. Makes sense if she's really that good with languages and stuff, but... Really, how likely is it that anyone could actually get in to Harvard, especially from Japan?"

Of course, Azami didn't even know what Harvard was, so I had to explain that to her as I mindlessly took in the rest of the data on this person – Sara or Kuroko or whoever she was. Languages weren't her only strength, apparently; she excelled in every subject that she was tutored in. And it wasn't just one or two of her tutors that commented on her charm. All of the tutor write-ups on her said that she was incredibly kind, courteous, naturally curious, and intelligent.

It was exactly the person who I would hate, in fact. Too perfect, too nice, and too eager to please. She sounded like a smart version of Suu, mixed with the enthusiasm of Ran and the talent of Miki. With these descriptions of my 'sister' to go on, I could easily see myself having told my parents to never talk about her, despite how ridiculous of a demand that would have been.

But this whole thing still seemed unlikely; after all, no matter how much I might have hated her goody-two-shoes perfection, she would have been a big part of my life up until age seven. How could I have forgotten a person involved in the first seven years of my life?

I shook my head and leaned back in my wooden chair. "I don't know what's up with this sister, and I don't care any more. We've got bigger stuff to worry about than a long-lost sister. My life's controlled by Easter now, after all. Let's just try to come up with some solution to that problem."

So Azami and I brainstormed together late into the night on that topic, but in the end, it seemed that nothing short of the Embryo itself would be able to grant us our wish for freedom. And the Embryo seemed to be little more than a myth. So for now, we didn't have a choice. I no longer simply worked for Easter –

I was enslaved by them.

* * *

So first of all, a big SORRY to all of you! I hate myself for ever stopping this fanfic, mainly because I hate it when any author does that. I even said so in the author's note on an earlier chapter. Nonetheless, I also couldn't have lived with myself if I had kept up the story at that point in time, mainly because I'd become really disenchanted with everything at that point in time. I just lost all motivation to do anything for about six months. Then I started my pokémon fic, which got me motivated again, and made me start thinking about how Miyuki was probably the best character I'd ever written. And THEN, a couple people started asking me if I'd start the fic up again, and I sort of said to myself, "Why not? I miss Miyuki and how awesome she is, after all."

On that note, however, I'd like to say that updates will be rather erratic for now. I have managed to update my pokémon fanfic once every week for the past eight months, minus maybe two or three times; I plan to continue this. However, whenever I finish one of those chapters ahead of time, I'll make sure to write more of this fanfic. Also, please excuse me if my writing is a bit weird for a couple chapters. I'm still getting used to writing from Miyuki's point of view after eight months of only writing a third-person pokémon fanfic. And also also, I've had absolutely nothing to do with Shugo Chara in the time since I've stopped writing (I hated the new season, and I haven't kept up with the manga, and I've read next to no SC fanfics), so please let me know if I'm getting something totally wrong.

Now, as for this chapter itself... lol, long lost sister. I realize it's a very clichéd and unlikely plot device, so forgive me for that. But is it even true? Who knows... ^_^

Anyway, sorry yet again for the long intermission in this story, and I hope that some of you (that are still interested in Shugo Chara at all) will return to reading this story, despite my despicable betrayal of your trust.


	19. The Necessity of Friendship?

Yukari seemed almost paranoid of me the first week or so of my "vacation," as Kazuomi had put it. Every moment I wasn't flying around in my character transformation, she insisted I be with her. I wasn't sure if maybe she wanted to make sure I didn't contact the Guardians (which was, in fact, impossible to do while she was constantly hanging around), or if she needed to observe me for some reason, or if maybe Kazuomi thought I would make a break for it if given the chance. And since the only time I could get away from her was when I character-transformed, and since the only time I could character-transform was when it was dark out and no one could see me, it was always too late to drop by a library or somethign and send an email or anything like that.

Then after that first week, Yukari apparently got tired of constantly monitoring me. So long as I brought back some X-eggs using my chara-change, she stopped caring. And even if I hadn't brought back any X-eggs, I still don't think she would have minded that much. As it turned out, Yukari had quite a bit of a drinking problem. It actually made this whole less-than-desirable X-egg collecting process a whole lot less of a bother for both of us. She was almost always drunk and more or less content; and I could inwardly laugh at her drunkenness, then leave whenever I wanted to if I got tired or annoyed with it.

It was a couple days after this shift from strict to lax that I was walking around town with Azami, looking for a good spot to lurk and draw out some X-eggs. And though I hadn't mentioned it once in those last couple days, I finally decided to bring up something that I'd been putting off.

"You know, Azami, I feel like sending a message to Mai. I haven't talked to her at all since-"

"I was hoping you'd forgotten about her!" Azami said, cutting me off. "Really, you don't need her. I've told you over and over and over again. A dragon-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said, cutting her off in turn. I wasn't angry with her at all. Strangely enough, I didn't even care that much if I for some reason couldn't get in contact with Mai, other than I was a bit guilty about leaving her in the dark about me for so long. "I know what a dragon does and doesn't do. But I'm curious what's up with the Guardians. If Easter is so desperate for eggs, don't you think that Guardians might have become involved in something else again?"

Azami scowled as she looked at me, floating backwards directly in front of my path of vision. "Curiosity isn't the problem. You're just grasping for a friend. You don't need anyone. You'll be better off if you can just accept that and look after only yourself. You'd be halfway to dragonhood already if you could just manage that!"

I shrugged. I was walking around in public, and I didn't particularly want this to turn into one of our shouting matches. "But what can I say? With only you and Yukari as company, who could blame me for wanting someone else to talk to, even if it's only by email? I think I'd even prefer a robot over you and Yukari, sometimes." Azami flew over and flapped her wings in my face, but I just squinted my eyes, ignored it as best as I could, kept walking, and continued to speak. "What is this but a battle of wills, Azami? You continuously insist that your draconic bylaws are the only ways I can live; and I always refuse to accept them. Isn't that a rather dragonish pride in and of itself?"

"I just don't know what to do with you!" Azami shouted in exasperation before landing on my head. "Right now, it's the matter of a lesser of two evils – though that's perhaps not the most accurate expression when speaking of dragons. Anyway, my point is, it's a lot less dragonish to have a stupid, idealistic, quiet, sheepish human friend than it is to recognize reason and give in on this one issue."

_Well, that's true. And to be honest, I'm so fickle that I feel as if I could just cut off all communication with Mai right now. I've been away from her for less than two weeks, and I'm already feeling more independent. I want to confide in someone, sure, but… At the same time, I always feel stupid after doing so. Like I just wasn't strong enough to handle keeping the details of a situation to myself. I always feel relieved too, of course, but maybe not enough to make it worthwhile to give up this independence._

_But even considering this… Even if I never confided in her again… I still miss Mai's company. That won't change. _

After a minute or two lost in these thoughts, I said to Azami off-handedly, "Okay, you're right. But I'm still going to go and email Mai. What are you going to do about it, anyway?" This last part I said almost as a challenge, mainly because there was one obvious thing she could do about it. And I wanted to see what would happen if she did.

Azami let out a frustrated roar and started beating my scalp with her tail; I quickly flicked her off. She flew around me in agitation as she shouted, "Do about it? I'll show you what I'll do about it! Chara-change!"

I felt the X-energy surge as it always did with any chara-change. The Darkness slightly changed the near-indifference of before: my longing to talk to Mai became more pronounced, for one, and I found myself getting angry at Azami for constantly ordering me around. Nonetheless, neither of these emotions influenced by the X-energy could have overridden the chara-change; whatever I was about to say was exactly what the dragon-version of me would say.

Which is why I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself continuing to walk calmly along. And as I walked, I spoke matter-of-factly to Azami: "As I said, what are you going to do about it? I want to talk Mai. Deal with it."

Azami was so stunned at first that the chara-change immediately faded. Then her shock turned to anger as her frustration grew even further. She flew around my head, looking so annoyed and enraged and almost confused that I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd tried to rip her hair (or her horns) out in her distress. "Gah! I just don't understand this anymore! Since when have you been able to judge yourself better than I could judge you? I'm you're shugo chara, for crying out loud! If anyone knows what you want and what you're thinking and what your chara-change will do, it's me!"

"Or maybe the person who knows it best is the person actually wanting it and thinking it and chara-changing," I answered. Then, suddenly, I laughed; the people walking past me on the sidewalk looked at me strangely, but I didn't mind. "Sorry, Azami, didn't mean to freak you out with a chara-change that actually did what _I _wanted, but I couldn't help it. The fact is, well, I've been thinking a lot about Mai this week. And even if I do want to be friends with her… Well, I know that both her and I will be better off for now if that wasn't the case. I can push the problem of real friendship off until later, and maybe by then, it won't be so much of a problem. Maybe we'll have grown so apart that we won't be able to be friends anymore.

"Plus, it's not like I want to run to her with my problems now. I really am just curious what's up, and – admittedly – I do want to talk with someone other than you and Yukari. That's why I knew that the chara-change would side with me. And you can't argue with the chara-change itself, can you?"

Azami calmed slightly, but she was obviously still annoyed. "Fine. Whatever. Do what you want then – I think I'm going to take a leaf out of Yoru's book and wander for a bit. It ought to be more fun then following around you and trying to figure you out."

She started to fly off, but I said, "Wait! How will you find me again? I mean, can you sense where I am like you can sense X-eggs?"

"Nope, not at all," Azami said, flicking her tail from side to side as she swooped back towards me for a few moments. "Charas can find each other and can sense X-eggs, but humans draw a blank. Dragons, on the other hand, have a wicked sense of intuition, so I bet I can find you anyway. And if not, I'll meet you back at the hotel. Just don't get yourself killed or kidnapped or something while I'm gone." And with that, she was off, soaring away down a side street.

_And don't get yourself eaten by a cat or something!_ I thought to myself jokingly as I watched her go. Even with the Darkness within me roused slightly by the earlier chara-change, I was feeling almost happy. I'd actually _won_ an argument with Azami. I hadn't thought it was possible. She was my would-be self, after all; as she'd said, if there was anyone who knew what I felt and how I thought, it was her.

_Maybe this means that I really am moving towards my dream,_ I thought optimistically as I walked through downtown, ignoring the many homeless people I passed as I looked for a central library of some sort. _And maybe Azami just hasn't realized it quite yet. It's impossible for me to actually be grateful to Easter, but I do have to admit that they've helped me towards my dream in more ways than one. __They gave me my power that lets me character-transform; though they've taken my freedom, they've done it in a way that forces me to question exactly what I want most; and maybe this constant X-egg collecting in different cities really _is _a good vacation. It lets me step back from things. And as much as I didn't think I could ever really believe it…_

And at this point, I switched from thoughts to speech and mumbled to myself, "Maybe I don't need friends, after all."

Still, I decided to not be too hasty about making my decision on that matter. Sure, I wanted to be a dragon; but if I ended up wanting friends, too, why couldn't I have both? Azami said they were contradictory, but I wondered often enough if that was really true.

Whatever the case, I shook that train of thought from my mind when I finally stumbled upon the main public library. I went in, but quickly realized that I had a problem. If this library was like my local library, then there was no way I could get my own library card without having parents with me. And I probably couldn't get on the computers without a library card. I had originally been planning on just forcing one of the librarians to give me a card via my chara-change, but that was out of the question with Azami gone.

So I was forced to wait. For what, I wasn't quite sure – either for someone who was careless enough to leave his computer without logging off, or for Azami to find me. I read some manga to pass the time, though I was so constantly looking over the pages to see if someone had left their computer that I barely comprehended what I read. It was nearly an hour before someone finally did leave without logging off, and I quickly jumped at the opportunity; I found that his session only had about five minutes left (which was probably why he hadn't bothered with logging off), so I had to make this quick.

To be extra careful, I set up a new email account; I wasn't sure if Easter might be watching my usual one. That seemed like it would be going a bit far, even for Easter, but I was never really sure exactly how far they'd go to keep an eye on me. Then I quickly typed out my message:

Hey, Mai, just wanted to say hi and see what's up with you. I'm actually doing fine – Easter is just having me go around to different places and collect X-eggs. I pretty much end up doing whatever I want, so long as I do get my quota of X-eggs for the day. Haven't had much trouble with the Darkness, either.

Anyway, as I said, just wanted to know how things are going with you. Has Easter been giving you much trouble? Just email me back at this address.

-Y. M.

The rest of the day passed without much of note happening. I stayed at the library for a while and read more manga, since I wouldn't be able to do any searching for X-eggs without Azami with me.

When Azami showed up after some time, she didn't even mention our earlier conversation. We silently left the library, found a good spot to collect X-eggs, and proceeded to chara-change and grab a few (which I put into my little X-egg collecting purse/bag thing) before heading back to the hotel room.

I then stayed at the hotel and watched TV until it was dark outside; Yukari was off somewhere, so I had the room to myself. When dusk finally arrived, I started off on my nightly X-egg hunt. I visited all the most populated night destinations – parks filled with couples walking in the moonlight, malls that were still open, restaurants, bars, and other such places.

Eventually, I found myself in a small neighborhood. I wouldn't have bothered myself with such an area, but I'd seen a group of teens wandering the streets below. I took a seat on a nearby roof, and then leisurely conjured a flame in my hand. I sent the resulting Hopeless Haze towards the group, and almost immediately X-eggs emerged from every single one of the seven teens.

I smirked as the X-eggs flew up to me. "Doesn't exactly surprise me," I said aloud. "Teenagers always make it so easy. It's almost like they're giving their dreams away. I wonder why?"

"Who knows?" Azami said from inside me. "Maybe it's 'cause they've finally realized after getting through childhood that they can't reach a dream without a little pain. And everyone runs from pain. Why not just give up both the dreams and the pain, and fade to mediocrity? It probably seems like a pretty good idea to them."

I sighed. "Well, I could almost understand it, if that's the case. It's still stupid, though. Why live if you're not living for something? They could at least live for themselves, I would think. Maybe I'll ask Ikuto sometime. He's a teen. He'd probably understand it more."

Since my business was concluded in that neighborhood, I stood up and then launched myself from the roof. The many eggs I'd gathered throughout the night instinctively followed me, drawn to the X-energy that had originally pulled them from their respective owners. "So what do you think, Azami? Got enough X-eggs for the evening?"

"We've got about fifty. I'd say that's plenty, especially considering we've been in this city for three nights now. Plus, I'm beat – we might as well head back and get some rest. It's probably past midnight."

So I started the long flight back to the hotel, enjoying the feeling of the cool night air on my face. But as nice a night as it was, dark thoughts were eating at my mind. Between the conversation about Mai earlier and Azami's opinion of those teens, my brain had started thinking. And that was never a good thing when I was chacter-transformed and the X-energy was just beneath the surface.

I couldn't help but wonder: was I really that much better than those teens who could drop their dreams so easily? There had been enough times that I'd been close to giving up my own dream because I didn't want to bear the pain of hurting my friends. Even now, after I'd already betrayed the Guardians, I was still taking the time and effort to talk to Mai. If I did end up giving in and thinking more of my friends than my dream, would I forget about Azami just like those teenagers had done?

_I hate this,_ I thought despairingly. _I've been asking myself these questions for months now. And I never get any closer to an answer. I'll probably end up losing both my friends and my dreams by the time this is over. Sometimes I can't help but think that it's a miracle that the X-energy inside Azami and I hasn't overcome us yet. Maybe it works differently when you accept it into you, as opposed to when regular people lose their dreams... I don't know, but whatever's up with the X-energy, it still makes me miserable half the time… Like now._

Azami seemed to sense that I was dwelling on something, but when she tried to bring my mind to other topics, I only halfway listened. In the end, she gave up and we continued our flight in silence.

We made it back to the scheduled meeting place - an above-ground parking garage - without any trouble. Yukari was there with one of the generic goons in one of the generic black cars. I ordered the X-eggs into the waiting crates in the back of the car; the flock of eggs went without any complaint, and soon the goon was driving away with his precious cargo. As he went, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe Easter really did have some way to brainwash people. After all, no matter how many goons I met up with - and no matter if I was in my Dark Dragon form or not, as I was now - they never reacted in any way. The only other possibility was that they were just really well trained, but I somehow doubted that all of them could so easily see me without registering some sort of reaction.

_If Easter can brainwash them, then could they do the same to me?_

As soon as the goon was out of sight, Yukari walked to her own car. I let go of my chara-nari and followed her, as I always did after a long night of harvesting. I was ready to get back to the hotel and get some sleep. But unlike the past nights of harvesting, Yukari turned to me once we were in the car and said, "Once we're back at the hotel, pack your bags. We're heading back to Easter first thing in the morning. You'll get some more X-energy, we'll stay in town for the day, and then we're heading back out to another city. Got it?"

I disliked the idea of getting more X-energy, of course, and I wasn't sure how I felt about going back to my home city right now. But I really didn't have a choice, either about going back or accepting the X-energy. "Got it," I said. I was too tired to think about it much, though; within a minute, I was fast asleep in the back of the car.

* * *

I still feel awkward writing this fanfic after so long... It's still taking me a while to get used to things. Hopefully it'll get better. Anyway, this would've been longer, but I decided to make the second half of this into the next chapter. ^_^ And that chapter will hopefully be better than this chapter... At the very least, more will happen. Miyuki just needed some more time to try and think about who she is and what she wants. As if this fanfic doesn't have enough of her doing exactly that already. (As if this entire fandom doesn't have enough of that, to be honest.)

So yeah, thanks for reading! Next chapter is mostly done already, so it'll probably be out in at most a week, I'd think. :-)


	20. Changing Plans

After several hours of driving the next day, Yukari, Azami and I arrived back at Easter for my unwanted power-up. When Azami put her hands to the crystal, there seemed to be just as much X-energy in it as there had been last time, despite what I'd told Kazuomi about it being hard to control. _He's probably just spiting me_, I thought as Yukari led me away right after the power up. _If anything, he'll probably just keep on increasing the amount I receive. I never should have told him that there was anything wrong. _The Darkness was weighing down upon me now more strongly than ever. As soon as Yukari decided to leave me alone - probably in the room I had been housed in before - I felt certain I'd have to succumb. And what would happen if anyone from Easter saw that and guessed what was happening? I doubted that they'd take it as a warning and back off on the X-energy. They'd probably just experiment with it, and see how they could use it to their advantage.

So when Yukari and I got on the elevator, I was surprised when she said, "I have no orders for what you're supposed to do while we're in town, so you're welcome to do as you please. You could collect more X-eggs... Or visit your family... Or any friends, if you have some." She spoke casually, as if she was simply listing off ideas as they came to her head; and yet there was also an undertone - especially in the last part - that made me feel like this was a trap.

"Oh? And what if I spoke with the Guardians and told them everything I'm doing right now? You know, just for the heck of it." I said, wanting to see what her reaction would be. Of course, I wouldn't actually tell the Guardians anything. Mai, maybe. But not Amu or Tadase or any of the others.

She smirked. "You're Easter's pet lizard right now. You wouldn't dare do anything that would make Kazuomi angry with you, would you? The consequences would be less than pleasant for you."

"Wouldn't dare?" Azami said as she flew right in front of Yukari's face, the glint in her eyes somewhere halfway between mischief and anger.

"Even if you would dare, you have no friends to listen to you," Yukari said, turning away from Azami and looking at the buttons for the different floors; as of yet, she hadn't pushed any of them. I felt like she was toying with me, but what she hoped to get out of this conversation was beyond me. Until now, she'd just done her job and could've cared less about how I was affected.

Yukari finally pressed the button for the lobby, then glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "You're a dragon, aren't you, Miyuki? Of course, I don't know anything about dragons, but judging by your actions since getting your little chara, it seems like you've done all you could to push friendship away from you. Or maybe you just can't handle friendship."

"Can't handle it? Of course she could," Azami retorted. "Say a few kind lies and it's easy for anyone to make a friend. That's what any friendship is based on, as far as I can tell. That's why having friends is so pointless. Best to stay independent."

The doors opened, but Yukari lingered in the elevator for just a moment longer. "I couldn't agree with you more, Azami," she said condescendingly. "Anyway, as I was saying - Miyuki, it's your choice what you want to do. You could always just head back up to the room you had before; it's ready and waiting for you. I, however, have better things to do." She walked out of the elevator and towards the main entrance of the building.

I followed her out of the elevator, but then paused and watched her go. Yukari didn't look back once, as if to emphasize that I was completely on my own for the day.

After a couple of minutes of standing dumbly near the elevator (and getting strange looks from the lobby secretary), I walked out of the building and started down one of the sidewalks.

The Darkness was still very noticeable, though the surprise of what Yukari had said had made it slightly less of an immediate threat. "Well, that was... weird. What's Yukari up to?" I said as we walked along.

"Who knows with that old hag?" Azami said. "Anyway, what are we going to do? I know - why don't we go to your house and ask you're parents if you have a sister? I'm still curious about that."

"No, I'd rather not. Talking to them is just... weird since I hypnotized them. I'm curious, too, but it doesn't seem all that relevant." _And somewhere deep down, I just don't like the idea of finding out who she is, if she exists, _I thought. But I couldn't tell Azami that, of course; she'd just see it as a fear, which would mean she'd make me face up to it. "I think I'll go over to Mai's and see if she's home. Who's Yukari to say that I can't manage to have any friends?"

Azami sat down on my head. "Fine, whatever. I almost don't care anymore, so long as you're not being completely obsessed with friendship. I suppose even a dragon can have a friend, so long as self-interest is still the top priority. That is your top priority, right? You wouldn't go and suffer for anyone else's sake, are you? 'Cause that's just stupid."

I shrugged. "Won't know for sure unless that opportunity presents itself, I suppose. I'm probably not a decent enough person to go through with something like that, no matter how much I like someone. I'd guess. Anyway, what time is it?"

Azami flew over to a nearby shop window and looked for a clock. "A little after three," she said.

"Yuck. That means that Mai will probably be at the daily Guardians meeting by the time I get over there, if I walk. And I'm sure the Guardians would be less than happy to see me," I said. "And if I fly, then I'll just have to wait around longer."

"So what if the Guardians don't want to see you?" Azami countered. "It's not like they're going to fight you at school. Plus, it'll be fun to see how they react to you showing up out of nowhere."

I grinned slightly. Though I knew that the enmity between the Guardians and I was entirely my fault, it hadn't stopped me from growing a kind of bitter attitude towards some of them. Of course, I already had hated Rima, so my attitude towards her hadn't changed. But now, whenever I thought of Tadase, his ordinary charm mixed with his secret, domineering ambitions just annoyed me; or when I thought of Yaya, I now saw her as an annoying baby who needed to grow up, rather than a lovable (if not occasionally irritating) third grader. In other words, the idea of startling the Guardians by showing up at Seiyo was starting to seem appealing, now that Azami had put things into her perspective.

"All right, sounds like a plan," I said.

When I arrived at Seiyo, I ignored the stunned stares of the few kids still waiting for their parents to pick them up. Instead, I went straight for the Royal Garden.

"Are they there?" I asked Azami as we neared, though the greenhouse itself was still out of sight.

Azami swished her tail back and forth, obviously enjoying herself as she soared through the air next to me. "Yep. Every single one of those Guardian idiots are up ahead. In fact, if my eyes don't deceive me - there they are." We had just rounded a bend; now that the Royal Garden was fully in sight, I saw the Guardians standing just outside the door, all looking at me with some sort of anxiety in their eyes. Their charas must have sensed Azami, and decided to be prepared for my arrival.

This anxious look differed from person to person in its cause, though. For Tadase, Kairi, and Rima, this look was more suspicious than anything; for Yaya, it was sad and distrustful; for Amu, it was her customary confused look, as if she couldn't possibly understand how the world could possibly be so cruel; and for Mai, it was concerned, not for the Guardians' sakes but for my own.

They were still some distance away, but all of this was easy enough to tell. I already knew how every single one of them felt about me. They'd never exactly bothered to hide their feelings.

As soon as I saw them, an almost mean idea came to my mind. I knew I'd probably regret it, but it was just too irresistible to pass up now that I'd thought of it. "Azami, want to do a chara-change? You know, to make this reunion memorable?"

Azami looked at me for a moment, her expression swiftly changing from one of surprise to one filled with mischief. "I thought you'd never ask. Chara-change!"

My demeanor changed instantaneously. Before, I'd been slightly nervous about seeing all the Guardians at once. Now, they just became a group of kids whose heads I could mess with.

"Hey guys! Long time no see, don't you think?" I said as I approached, grinning.

Tadase glared at me with such vehemence that I would've sworn he could've shot lasers out of his eyes if he had wanted to. "What do you want, Miyuki?"

"Are you going to apologize for what you did before?" Yaya said, suddenly hopeful.

Rima joined in with Tadase on the glare. "I doubt it," she said coldly.

I struck my fist against my chest in mock pain. "Ouch, guys, that hurts. If anything, _you_ guys should be apologizing to _me_, after all. I was hurting for a while after that last battle."

"Don't think we're afraid to do the same thing again," Tadase said. "Now what do you want?"

Mai suddenly stepped away from the Guardians a little ways. "Hotori-kun... Miyuki... Stop it," she said pleadingly. "We can't get in a fight here. You know that. Everyone will see."

I shrugged as if unconcerned, but my red eyes were shining with evil pleasure. "That hardly matters to me. Let people see if they want. Then everyone could _really _see Tadase-kun as a prince, frills and all."

A scepter suddenly appeared in Tadase's hand as he chara-changed. "Leave, commoner," he warned, pointing at me with the scepter; no one was in the immediate area, so he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing this. For the moment, at least.

"Chill, chill," I said, crossing my arms. "That is, unless you'd like to get your butt kicked. I'm at least a bit stronger since that last fight, and you don't have Utau here to take care of what you can't do."

Mai spoke up again, which halfway amazed me; after all, she had always been so quiet. She must have really warmed up to the Guardians if she could manage to be even this assertive in front of them. "Miyuki, really - why are you here? I just got your email this morning... I thought you were off somewhere else. I'm glad to see you back, but what's going on?"

Then the chara-change went away, probably because Azami wanted to see how I'd act on my own. I felt kinda bad about what I'd been saying, to be honest. But I didn't want the Guardians to know that, at least not directly. "Oh, guess I got a little off-track. I actually just wanted to know if you had time to talk. I'm only in town for today. As I said in the email, I'm curious to know what's up. Classes going okay?"

My sudden change from antagonism to casual conversation threw Tadase for a loop, and his chara-change disappeared. Still, he was no less hateful as he said, "Mai, you can't trust her. She'll betray you, just like she betrayed us."

Actual anger entered Mai's eyes, which was completely out of character for her. I'd never once seen her truly angry. About anything. Ever. But she didn't say anything in direct response to Tadase. Instead, she grabbed my hand and started walking away from the Guardians. "Come on, Miyuki, let's go talk at the park or something. We'll leave the Guardians to their business."

"Um, okay?" I said, still a bit surprised and confused at her mood swing but following her nonetheless. I looked back as we walked away and saw that all the Guardians were watching us go. Amu take a couple of steps forward as if to follow us, but Rima said something to her that made her stop and at least think twice about whether or not she should.

We walked a few minutes in silence until we reached the park on the route to Mai's house. We found a more or less abandoned corner away from the playground, and sat down beneath a tree there. It looked like Mai had calmed down by now, so I said, "So, Mai, what was that back there? I've never seen you get so angry out of the blue."

She sighed. "The thing is, it's not out of the blue. Whenever Tadase talks, it seems like he always works in a comment about you or Ikuto. It bothers me. And he, Rima, and Kairi are always telling me that you'll betray me and that they're trying to help me by getting me to abandon contact with you."

"Who says we aren't going to betray you?" Azami asked. And though I wouldn't have brought it up myself, I had to admit that Azami had a point. Betrayal was well within the realm of possibility right now.

"That's the thing. I know that they're probably right, because if I were in your position... Well, I'd at least understand the necessity to betray me if you were ordered to. So even though I know that you might - or probably will betray me - still... Oh, I don't know. Still... How can I say this?"

"Leave it to me! Chara-change!" Suzume chimed in.

The blue pencil appeared behind Mai's ear, and suddenly any troubles she had with expressing her thoughts were gone. "Simply put, we're friends. If I need to be there for you even when you're stabbing me in the back, then I'll be there. You're not the kindest, most upright person ever; that's part of who you are. I know that you'd still try to be a dragon and - if Azami had it her way - still try to avoid friendship even if Easter weren't controlling your actions and forcing you to do stuff. It's probably stupid of me, but even knowing that, I still want to help you if I can. Who can explain why it is we like who we like, and why we'll stick by them even against all logical thought?"

"You think you're only probably stupid?" Azami said as the chara-change went away. "More like definitely. Miyuki is already growing further and further away from you. Soon enough, she'll have no reason _not _to betray you. Isn't that right, Miyuki?"

I averted my eyes, not particularly wanting to meet Mai's questioning gaze. What could I say? "We'd both be better off if we weren't friends, don't you think? At least, we shouldn't be close friends. Then Tadase's comments wouldn't bother you as much, and whatever Easter makes me do wouldn't be quite as bad."

I looked up and, surprisingly, Mai was smiling at me. "Even if that were true, I still wouldn't want to lose you as a friend. And whether or not you want to acknowledge it, you're probably gonna need some help to deal with Easter. I'm willing to help, even though I can't chara-nari or anything. And I'm sure Amu's willing to help, if you'd just let me tell her what's really going on. Yaya, too, and probably Kairi. He already knows that something's up with how Easter's controlling you, but he doesn't know any specifics. Tadase and Rima... Well..."

"They hate my guts, I know," I said, not at all unhappy about it. I was quite a bit cheered up, actually, thanks to Mai's unwavering support. I know that if I had been in her position, I would've sided with Tadase and Rima; maybe that just shows how different Mai and I were, despite our friendship. "I can deal with them hating me. Anyway, you're crazy for still wanting me as a friend, but so long as we are friends... Mind telling me what's been going on here? Easter done anything lately?"

"Nothing as big as that concert thing," Mai answered. "But apparently, Tadase and Amu have both run into Ikuto in the past week. He's been acting strangely, I guess. He won't say a word when they meet, and somehow he's been drawing out X-eggs."

I scowled. "He was never able to do that when I worked with him. All he ever did was fight and help collect the X-eggs other people got. Is he radiating X-energy or anything, like I do when I chara-nari?" I still had the bracelet I'd received from Nikaido from forever ago, so the only time the charas would be able to feel it was when it was at it's peak.

She shook her head. "That's the thing. Kiseki and Dia and the others said that it was sort of like that, but-" Mai broke off mid-sentence as I suddenly jerked my head up. When I didn't immediately explain my strange behavior, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Before answering, I covered my ears a couple times. Then, once I was sure I wasn't imagining things, I said, "Don't you hear it? That ringing noise or humming noise or something? I just noticed it, but I think it's been going on for a little while and I was just tuning it out."

"You're right on that idea," Azami said. "I've been hearing it for a while."

Mai listened for a few moments, then shook her head. "I don't hear anything. Suzume?"

"Nope!" She said happily. "But I do feel something... let's see..." She turned around a few times, looking all around her. On the fourth time around, she shot up in the air and pointed towards the roof of a house just across from the park. "I knew it! There it is! I thought I felt a chara nearby - Ikuto is up there!"

And sure enough, Ikuto was looking down at us from his perch on the roof; the only reason Suzume hadn't immediately been able to see him was that there were tall trees growing right next to the house, mostly obscuring him from sight. Despite these obstructions, I could still tell that there was something different about him. In the past, I'd almost always seen him with a smirk on his face and a frustratingly annoying glint in his eyes. Now, all emotion seemed gone. He simply stared at us.

I shuddered slightly at the implications of him being here. If Ikuto was here, then that would probably mean that Easter would end up knowing I was here. Perhaps he'd been following me since leaving Easter. Maybe that's why Yukari had practically dared me to go talk to the Guardians; maybe some sadistic part of her wanted to see me punished by Kazuomi.

"It doesn't feel like he has Yoru with him..." Azami said, half to herself. "But I still feel something chara-like with him. Halfway between a chara and an X-egg, actually. Weird."

"Well, is he going to come down now that we've spotted him?" I asked aloud. "All he's doing is just... staring. We could chara-nari and fly up there, but it seems likely someone would see."

As I said this, Ikuto turned, walked to the side of the roof, and jumped over to the next house, which was at the corner of two streets; and from there, he jumped off the house and turned the corner, disappearing from sight.

I stood up and, without any explanation to Mai, started running towards where he'd disappeared. _If something's up with Ikuto, then it probably has to do with Easter. And if he really is acting weird and Easter is behind it, then I need to figure out what's up. After all, what's stopping Easter from doing the same things to me as they might be doing to Ikuto? _But when I reached the corner, he was gone.

"Azami, do you feel where he went?"

Azami pointed towards a white paneled van that was quickly driving away. "Feels like he's in there. No chance to catch up to him, unless we fly. Want to?"

Just then, Mai and Suzume caught up to us. "What happened? Where did Ikuto go?"

I pointed at the white van as it rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. "As curious as I am, I'd rather not bother chasing them, Azami. How would we get him alone to talk to him? Judging by how fast the van got away, someone must have been waiting to drive him. Probably someone from Easter. If they're so intent on keeping him away from me, I don't think there's anything I can do about it at the moment. Though why they'd even have him show himself here if they don't want me to talk to him is a mystery to me."

"Do you think they're maybe warning you of something?" Mai said. "I mean... You won't get in trouble for coming to see me, will you?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I hope not, but if Kazuomi finds out about me being here, then maybe. It depends who's in charge of managing Ikuto right now, and what their intentions are. If Kazuomi's the one giving direct orders conerning Ikuto, then he'll find out. If Yukari's making plans for him in addition to watching me, then maybe she'll just hold the threat over my head." _Either way, this is not good, more than likely, _I thought, the Darkness coming back once more.

Mai saw that I was down, grabbed my hand, and started heading back to the area of the park where we'd been sitting. "Cheer up. We'll figure out something. There's no way that Easter can keep control of you forever. Just think about it. They practically need to have an eye on you all the time in order to keep you under their control. Or, more notably, they have to keep an eye on that crystal thing. But all you need is one moment when they let their guard slip so that you can grab the crystal from them. It's got to happen eventually. Don't you think?"

We made it back to our spot, and I sat glumly at the base of the tree. "I'm not so sure. I don't think Kazuomi will ever let his guard down."

"But it doesn't have to be Kazuomi, does it?" Suzume said, as happy as ever. "He doesn't keep the crystal all the time, does he? You've told Mai and I that both the scientists and Yukari have had it before. You've just got to wait for the moment to take it from them!"

Azami had been sitting on my shoulder, but now she floated off of it a little ways as if something had caught her attention. "Hey, Miyuki - look who's come by for a visit. You wanna stay, or go before she gets here?"

I looked up and saw Amu walking towards us from across the park. "She must want to talk to you, Miyuki," Mai said. "She's talked to me a couple times and mentioned that she wishes you'd just give her a chance to speak with you. She knows that there's something that Kairi didn't know about and that I won't tell, and she thinks she can help if you just tell her what it is. Dia has really been pressing her to talk to you, too, I think. Why don't you just tell her?"

"Guess I can't exactly avoid talking to her now," I said, not bothering to get up and even try to avoid Amu; she'd probably just chase after me. I knew that she could be annoyingly persistent when she thought she was trying to help. "But I'm still not going to tell her. I wouldn't have even told you, but you at least deserved to know. She doesn't."

"Why did I deserve to know, but not her?" Mai asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't know. Guess it's because I took your dream once. That was bad enough of a thing for me to do that I figured I could partly make it up to you by letting you in on everything."

"And so you think your betrayal of Amu's friendship isn't as big of a deal?" Mai asked, her tone obviously telling me that she thought it _was_ just as big of a deal. "I mean, the only reason why you felt that taking my heart's egg is because I was your friend. It wasn't the action; it was who you did the action to. Does it matter how you betrayed Amu? Or does it matter that the person that you hurst in some way - no matter how small - was someone who has only ever been kind to you?"

Amu had nearly made it over to us, and so I mumbled under my breath, "Maybe you're right. But I'm still not telling."

Then Amu reached us and stood awkwardly in front of us for a moment or two before saying, "Uh, hi Mai. Hi Miyuki. Mind if I sit down?"

I looked at her blankly, not bothering to answer. So Mai said, "Go ahead."

Amu sat down just across from us; her four charas floated next to her, all of them except Dia seeming rather anxious about this meeting. After a few more moments of awkward silence, Amu met my eyes and said with confidence, "Miyuki, I know that something's not right. Why are you working for Easter? And what are they doing to you?"

I smiled ruefully. "What makes you think something's not right? Or that Easter's doing anything to me? I joined Easter simply because I wanted power. And they gave it to me. After all, I can chara-nari without the aid of some trinket," I said, looking at the Humpty Lock. "Do you know anyone who can manage that?"

"You're avoiding the question," Amu said, though she moved her gaze off to the side as she did so, as if ashamed that she couldn't do anything without the Humpty Lock's power. "Why you joined Easter... I don't want to admit it, and I still can't fully believe that you would do it just for power. But I didn't ask you why you joined. I asked you why you're working for them now, and what's wrong, and what they're doing to you. Dia said that ever since the first time she met you, she's felt your radiance slipping away." Quite suddenly, Amu turned her head so that she was looking me in the eyes again. Her eyes were filled with concern for me, as well as a determination to help. "What's going on? What won't you and Mai tell me and the other Guardians?"

This time, I was the one who couldn't continue to meet her eyes. I stood up, and still not looking at her said, "My radiance? What's that even supposed to mean? Both you and Dia are crazy - I'm perfectly fine. If that's all that you want to talk about, then I'll just be off." I turned and took a step away from Mai and Amu. But then I found Dia right in front of my face, forcing me to come to a stop.

The chara looked me in the eyes with a gaze just as bright and sharp as a diamond. "It means that your spirit is fading. Your determination has been worn down, and you're slowly losing what little hold you have of your dream." Then, turned her gaze to Azami, she said, "And you're a failure as a chara if you won't do something to save both yourself and Miyuki."

"Failure, you say?" Azami said haughtily as she glared at Dia. "At least I never became an X-character. Compared to you, I think I'm managing quite well."

Dia stayed composed but serious as she replied, "You may not have turned into an X-chara yet, but if you keep going through with whatever Easter is doing to you - or whatever it is that you're letting Easter do to you - then you'll have your own 'X' before long. I can sense it, and I'm sure that you can sense it, too."

Azami flicked her tail in annoyance and started flying off in the direction I'd originally been headed. "Miyuki, I'm done listening to this. Let's leave."

But I simply looked at Dia, too stunned by what she had just said to move. Of course, I'd always been half afraid that all the X-energy and the Darkness might have a long term effect on me, but I'd never seriously considered Azami possibly becoming an X-chara. And the thing is, even if what Dia said was true and Azami knew it, too, there was no way my chara would tell me. She probably thought that we could handle things ourselves. She wouldn't admit that perhaps the X-energy was all too quickly finding my weak points.

"Dia, how would you know?" I asked her. "We use X-energy. All of the charas can sense it when we chara-nari, at least. Are you sure you're not just feeling that?"

"I agree with Miyuki," Amu said; she appeared just as shocked as me at what Dia had said. "She wouldn't give up Azami that easily. That much I know."

Dia flew back over to Amu, but turned back to me once there and said, "I'm certain. I've been there, and it's part of my character to see what's wrong with people. I was born out of Amu's desire to do everything she can to help those around her, after all."

I turned to Azami, feeling both betrayed and afraid. "Azami, is she right?"

"In a sense, yes," Azami admitted, showing no emotion. Yet I knew that she had to feel _something. _After all, both she and I would be majorly affected if this was true. "What the little diamond brat doesn't know, however, is how to even begin going about stopping it. I'm doing the best I can; it's up to you to keep up. If you can just fully embrace your dream like I've been telling you to, then nothing will be able to take you down. A dragon can stand up to anything. You, however, keep on turning to fools for help." The dragon chara glared meaningfully towards Mai, Amu, and their charas. "It's weakening you more and more."

Ran darted towards both me and Azami. "That can't be right! Friendship makes you stronger, no doubt about it!"

"That's right, desu~!" Suu added.

"There's no way a dream could conflict with your friends," Miki said reasonably. "It just doesn't make sense."

Amu suddenly stood up, so that we were once again on eye level. "They're right, Miyuki," Amu said with confidence; I now noticed that her customary hairclips had been replaced by yellow diamonds. "I'm not sure if I could ever trust you again after what you did, but even so, I want to help you. And there's no way that turning to others for help could possibly make you weaker."

Mai also stood, smiling encouragingly. "I couldn't have said it better myself, even with Suzume's help. Why don't you just tell her, Miyuki? It can't hurt, can it?"

I was hesitant for a few moments. In my heart, I felt like what they said was at least partially right. Though telling Mai or anyone else about my troubles had always made me feel weaker as an individual, I felt that the two of us together were perhaps stronger than I could ever be alone. And no matter what Azami said, I didn't particularly feel like telling Amu could do much damage.

I was about to give in and tell Amu when rage suddenly began coursing through me. Azami had forced a chara-change. "Help me? How could anyone like you two help me?" I asked angrily. "You're both pathetic, and you know it. You trust people too much. You always see only the good in them, and never the bad. Think about it - Tadase and the others aren't around right now. You, Mai, wouldn't even be able to defend yourself if I chose to attack; and you, Amu, wouldn't be able to fare well against the amount of X-energy I can channel. What if I attacked the both of you right now?"

"Then why don't you?" Mai asked sadly and quietly. "Why don't you attack us right now?"

Small flames sprung up in my hands, and the smoke that came from them curled around my body in a menacing manner. Of course, making smoke was all I could do if I was only chara-changed. But if I character-transformed... "Why don't I attack you?" I asked myself, echoing Mai's sad challenge. "Good question. You're annoying me so much right now that I have every reason to fight you, and no reason not to. In that case..." I increased the smoke around me tenfold, then loosed it in all directions in a thin haze. The kids and parents in the park became lethargic and uncaring, as did anyone in the few cars that occasionally drove by the out-of-the-way park; now it no longer mattered whether or not I changed my form. Aside from Amu and Mai, no one would notice me.

Then darkness enveloped me. My wings appeared; my outfit changed; my X-energy flowed without restraint. But despite this, my regular personality came back. That was the weird thing I'd noticed about character-transformations, especially when I had watched Amu when we'd still been friends. Whenever she'd character-transformed with any of her charas, she had never gained the personalities she had when simply chara-changed. The same thing had always happened with me, as well.

I'd barely adjusted back to being myself when Amu suddenly transformed with Ran. She was barely a meter away from me - much too close for her sort of transformation. The light emanating from her felt like a thousand burning lances piercing my skin and lodging themselves in my flesh, doing their best to burn away every bit of me; and the X-energy inside me rebelled against it as it always did, creating an inner turmoil to rival the outer pain.

I quickly leapt up into the air and flapped my wings as hard as possible, doing my best to distance myself from the light. Of course, the transformation was finished in a few seconds; but even so, I stayed up in the sky, circling for a few moments as I looked down at Amu and Mai. No matter what my intentions had been while I'd been chara-changed, I simply couldn't bring myself to even launch an assault now. Even the X-energy raging inside me and my own mix of emotions weren't able to provoke me into an attack.

"Azami, you've gone too far this time. We're heading back to Easter."

From within me, Azami said, "Are you really so willing to give up your dream like that? The dragon in you wants to fight them, to prove that you don't need them. Because the fact is that you really don't need them."

The X-energy roared within me, throwing my mind into confusion. It almost seemed to speak, though maybe all I heard were my own thoughts influenced by my chara-nari: _Friends or Dreams? Dreams or Friends? Can you choose? Will you sacrifice one for the other? Will you give up both, so that you can live on in content mediocrity? Can you choose? Can you choose?_

"I don't need to prove it - to you, or to them, or to myself," I said grimly. I could tell that I wasn't thinking quite right; the X-energy of my chara-nari mixed with the confusion of the situation was messing with my mind too much. But even though I knew this, I didn't quit talking so that I could wait until my mind had calmed. Instead, I went on to say, "I will be a dragon. If that means I have to relinquish my friendship, then I won't talk to them again. That's all there is to it."

So with that resolution in mind, I flew back to Easter, landed in a nearby alleyway, then walked into the building. Azami and I still hadn't said a word. Both of us were brooding, as if the resolution I had come to wasn't satisfactory for either of us. If anything, we were both more unhappy than ever. _Then again, maybe it's not my decision that's made us glum_, I thought as I rode up the elevator, _I don't think Dia was lying about what she said to us. Maybe the X-energy is taking it's toll more than either Azami or I would like to admit, and that's why we're in such foul moods. Still, I do think Azami is doing her best. If she thinks that we can be strong enough to fight it, then maybe we can. _

I entered my room and plopped myself down on the small sofa, exhausted and confused and unconsciously preparing myself for the overwhelming Darkness that I felt might come any time. We were both so lost in our thoughts that I'd been in the room nearly a minute before I noticed that Yukari was standing off in one corner of the room, her cunning eyes seemingly cutting through the plain emptiness of the room and into the dark emptiness of my soul.

I didn't even register any surprise at her being here. "You need something?" I asked, without any real interest in my voice.

The edges of her mouth raised slightly, giving her a look not unlike the cruel joy that often comes upon young boys' faces when they pull dogs' tails or throw rocks at birds descending to a birdfeeder. "No, not particularly. I was just curious if the dragon had fun with her friends today. You had a nice little chat with both Hinamori Amu and that Mai girl, didn't you, Miyuki?"

I shrugged and looked away from her, my eyes somewhat unfocused. "I suppose so."

"But what happened to a dragon having no friends? Does your definition of a dragon change by the hour?" Yukari taunted.

"I don't have any friends. Not any more."

"So you abandoned them?"

"You could say that."

Yukari's grin widened. "So your friendship with them is something that can be so easily discarded? Is it nothing more than a tissue - something that had its use, but is worth less than nothing once its usefulness is finished?"

I didn't respond, and so Azami said, "Yeah, that's essentially it. But why even ask us this to begin with? Don't you prefer if we don't have any Guardian friends? What exactly is it that you want from us?"

"Oh, I don't want anything in particular. I just do my job, and do my best to move up in the ranks. You should be asking what Kazuomi wants to do with you. Would you like to know?"

I turned my head back to her, and my dull grey eyes met her steely glare. "Would you actually tell me if I did want to know?"

"I have no reason to hide it."

My eyes narrowed. Perhaps I shouldn't even ask. I felt like I was being led into a trap. Nevertheless, after a few seconds pause, I said, "Then what exactly is he planning to do?"

Yukari suddenly wiped the grin from her face and assumed a nonchalant manner. She looked at her nails and replied, "Well, it's just that the scientists have been experimenting with Ikuto lately. They found a way to use sound waves mixed with the X-energy waves of X-eggs to control Ikuto. It works in a way not unlike how the crystal syncs its own vibrations to you and Azami. Kazuomi rather likes having that tight leash on his stepson-"

"Stepson?" I asked, slightly surprised. It seemed like I remembered hearing something to this extent from someone, but right now, I couldn't clearly think of anything. The Darkness was too strong.

"Oh, did you not know? Yes, he and Utau are Kazuomi's stepchildren," Yukari said, her manner still uncaring. "Now, as I was saying, Kazuomi likes having that control, even though it's taking a toll on his stepson's body. He'd like to do something similar with you. You're not quite suitable for the sound resonance that Ikuto goes through, yet he would very much love to know how the X-energy he puts into the crystal will resonate with your hopeless heart if you were to develop some X-energy of your own. And by that, I mean that he wants Azami to turn into an X-chara. Wouldn't that just be dreadful?"

The Darkness flared up, as if happy at the idea; and I, in turn, felt my own hopes sink into the gutters so many stories below me. "Why would you tell me this?"

Yukari looked back at me. "Hm? Well, I do wonder why... But what does it matter? More importantly, how do you feel about it?"

_How do I feel? I feel scared and bewildered and weak. Why is she telling me this? Is she maybe hiding actual concern for me behind her cruel exterior? Or maybe Easter is trying to psych me out by telling me outright what they're trying to do? More importantly, can I really keep control of the X-energy in me and keep it from overwhelming me if Easter is openly trying to get it to engulf me? Can I resist the Darkness?_

_...The Darkness..._

I glanced up at Azami, and saw her sinking down to the table with that familiar look of darkness-filled emptiness on her face. And I felt the Darkness doing to me exactly what it was doing to her: overcoming the soul and replacing all hope with despair, all joy with sorrow, all motivation with listlessness.

I slowly turned my gaze to Yukari. And in the last fully-conscious thought I had before succumbing to the Darkness for the night, I noted both triumph and sorrow lingering in the woman's eyes.

And then the Darkness completely overtook me, for the first time ever managing to take over my mind while I was in the presence of another human.

* * *

I feel like I'm starting to get back into the swing of things... Or maybe this chapter just had more content that I liked, and so I feel better about it. ^_^

Next update might not be for a while... I'm getting ready to graduate high school, and so my life's getting pretty busy. I didn't even get my chapter of my pokémon fanfic done for this week, which I feel pretty bad about...

But anyway, I'll try to get it out as soon as humanly possible. Thanks for reading!


	21. Giving In

Outwardly, not much changed in the next two weeks. Yukari still took Azami and I to other towns to collect X-eggs, and we still came back a couple times to Easter to get more X-energy. From an observers point of view, I probably still appeared to be nothing more than a slightly less-than-average girl.

Inwardly, however, I was wreck. Ever since Yukari had told me about Kazuomi trying to turn Azami into an X-chara, I couldn't stop thinking about it. At first, this served as a motivation for me, and I actually felt my personality becoming more dragonlike as I resolved to take more complete control of the X-energy in me. And for a while, that resolve helped me to succeed.

But after the first few days of resisting, my will began to wear down. Yukari was part of the problem; it seemed like she took every opportunity to confuse me about my choice to abandon my friends. She would point out a group of kids my age and point out how much they were enjoying life together, for example, and then ask if I was enjoying life that much as Easter's pet lizard. Or else she would talk about how stupid friends were, and how much better it is to rely on oneself, even if it made you unhappy on the surface. Her many comments as well as my own lack of willpower allowed the Darkness to return soon enough, and I started to lose hope once again. I wasn't even strong enough to keep control of X-energy. If I couldn't do that, then how could I ever be strong enough to be a true dragon?

It wasn't until after my fourth time returning to Easter for more X-energy that things began to change.

"You know, Azami, why don't we go back to my house for a bit?" I said after Yukari had yet again said that I could have the rest of the day to myself.

"Why?" Azami asked rather disinterestedly. I could tell that today's boost of X-energy was hitting her hard; to be honest, I wasn't feeling all that great either.

I shrugged. "I've got nothing else to do. Can't talk to friends right now, after what we decided the last time we saw them. And I don't want to just go back to my room, because I don't know how long either of us could ward off the Darkness. So I figured it might be interesting to see who this long-lost sister is that Easter insists I have."

The idea made Azami a little more cheerful. "I'd nearly forgotten about that. You think she's real?"

"Despite the fact that I have no recollection of her?" I asked. "Surprisingly, yes. Weird as it is, I don't think Easter is lying about it. But why don't we just go find out?"

So we walked over to my house. Flying would have been faster, of course, but by unspoken agreement neither of us wanted to stir up the X-energy any more. When we arrived, I must admit that the sight of my house made me feel strange. I hadn't been home in weeks, and so I guess it was sort of a bittersweet happiness that filled me. Or maybe it was anxiety at trying to figure out the truth of this sister. It was hard to say for sure what the feeling was.

_Well, whatever, _I thought to myself after a couple moments of staring at the front of my house. _I guess nothing will get done if I just stand out here. _

Since it was late afternoon, my mom was the only one home; she looked up curiously from what she was doing as soon as I opened the unlocked front door, but as soon as she saw me her eyes went back to their familiar dull look.

_Looks like the hypnotism is working, even now. _

I was about to start asking her questions, but I suddenly felt something small and furry rubbing against my leg. I looked down and saw Ginger there; to be honest, I'd nearly forgotten about her. It didn't look like she'd grown at all since I last saw her. She looked just as kittenish as ever.

She meowed up at me, and I smiled in spite of myself. "Hey, Ginger. Mom's been taking good care of you, I hope?" Ginger meowed back at me, as if answering the question.

Azami drew my attention back to her with an obnoxious cough. "You're talking to cats again," she chided. "Can we just get back to why we're here?"

I shrugged, and turned back to my uncommunicative mom. "Hey, mom?" I asked, trying to act as I had before Azami had ever hatched. For once, I really didn't want to just order her around. She was my mother, after all. "I wouldn't happen to have an older sister, would I?"

My mom blinked and stared at me blankly for a few moments, as if this question was difficult to process. "Yes, you do," she said after some time.

"Well, that answers that question," Azami said. "Now to dig deeper."

I ignored Azami, since I was planning on getting to the bottom of this anyway without her coaching. "So why don't we have any pictures of her? And why don't we ever talk about her?"

"We do have pictures. We stored them away," my mom replied, still sounding like a complete zombie. "After visiting her once while she was in college in the U.S., you threw a tantrum until we stopped talking about her and took down all her pictures. We thought you'd calm down after a while if we let you forget her for a while."

I scowled, thinking hard. _This all sounds so familiar… But why would I throw a tantrum like that? _"Did she do something to me while we were over there? Why'd I get so angry about her?"

My mom shook her head. "Your dad and I never knew."

"Well, that doesn't help us at all," Azami said. "Maybe if she'd get out one of the pictures, you'd be reminded more of who this sister is."

I figured the idea couldn't hurt. "Could you get out any pictures of… Oh, what was her name again?"

"Sara," my mom replied as she turned and headed upstairs. "You and everyone else here in Japan called her by her middle name, Kuroko."

"Isn't that exactly what Easter's packet on her said?" Azami said as we followed my mom up the stairs.

"Yeah. Guess there's no denying that Easter and my mom are definitely talking about the same person, then," I replied.

After a few minutes of rummaging through the boxes in the storage closet, my mom handed me a medium-sized box. Without any further ado, I took it and went to my room. Inside it, I found numerous pictures of a girl who did, in fact, look familiar.

"Would you look at that," Azami said in mock amazement as I went through photos spanning years of time, both before and after my own birth. "You even look like her when she was younger. No doubt that you're sisters, even if her hair is a bit darker… And, obviously, hers isn't super short and streaked with purple."

"You got a problem with my hair?" I asked jokingly.

"Not at all, not at all," Azami said as she looked closely at a picture of my whole family together: me, my mom, my dad, and this forgotten sister. "So anyway, do you remember anything yet? It's only been four years since she left for college, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's right. And I don't remember anything specific really, still," I said. "But at the same time… After seeing pictures of her, I do recognize her as my sister. But the only thing I can think of involving her is that I hated her guts for some reason, ever since I was little.

"You apparently had enough of a problem with her to not even talk about her once she was gone, that's for sure," Azami said. "But you can't remember anything other than that?"

I shook my head.

"That's a let down," Azami said, not sounding all that concerned. "So if there's nothing else to do here…"

I looked up at her as she left off in the middle of her sentence. "What is it? Something wrong?"

"If I'm not mistaken, we're about to have a visitor in three… two… one…"

A loud thump like that of a bird hitting glass suddenly cut through the quiet room, causing me to jump. I looked over to the window and, to my surprise, I saw Yoru there plastered against the pane. He quickly recovered, though, and began pounding against the window with his little paws.

Curious about the reason for his distress, I went over and opened the window. He immediately floated in and threw himself against my arm in as big of a hug as he could manage. "Miyuki! I've been looking for you everywhere, nya~!" he caterwauled. "I need your help! Ikuto won't listen to me any more, and Easter keeps on controlling him, and he keeps on transforming with a weird egg, nya~! You've gotta save him, nya~!"

"Woah, woah," Azami said. "Slow down there, cat. We know most of this already, but why do you think we'll help?"

"But you've got to help, nya~!" Yoru cried, looking up at me with a pitiful expression on his face. "I don't know what I'll do if you won't help, nya~!"

I sighed. "You know what, Azami? I think we should do it. You know, just to spit in Kazuomi's eye one last time before…" I trailed off, realizing what I'd been about to say.

"Before what?" Azami said, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

I looked down at the ground. _Before the Darkness completely overwhelms us both, and turns you into an X-chara. I've held off the X-energy for as long as I can… I know I can't last much longer. I don't have the strength of a dragon, like you_. But though all that was the truth, I wasn't about to say it aloud. She would take it as giving up.

I put on a fake smile and said, "Oh, it's nothing. But Yoru, do you even have any idea how we're supposed to help? There's only so much I can do if I don't know what exactly is making him act weird."

"That's simple, nya~!" Yoru said happily. "It's his violin! And a tuning fork thing that Easter uses, nya~! If you can get either of those things, then I bet he'll be saved, nya~!"

I grinned. "Ikuto is going to _so _owe me for helping him out with this. So where can I find him or the tuning fork?"

Yoru sunk a little in the air. "That's the problem, nya~. They're probably both locked up at Easter now. But he's taken out in the evening to collect X-egg, and the tuning fork is taken too, nya~!"

I looked at the clock on the wall of my room. "Well, it's five thirty right now. I guess we can head to the roof of the Easter building and wait for them to come out. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, nya~! This is better than a ton of catnip, nya~!" Yoru said, tears of happiness streaming from his eyes.

"We aren't doing it for you," I said as I opened the window wider and Azami, taking my hint, did a quick chara-nari. As soon as I was in my Dark Dragon form, I finished, "We're doing it for some fun. Right, Azami?"

"If I had to guess, you're actually doing it to get our minds away from the X-energy," Azami said frankly, her voice ringing through my mind. "But things _have_ been kinda dull. Regardless of what Kazuomi will do to us afterwards, I'm up for it."

I launched myself out the window and flapped my wings hard, trying to gain altitude before anyone below could see me. "Glad to hear that you're okay with it, 'cause I would have gone through with it anyway. We've got nothing left to lose, except maybe our sanity."

Azami laughed as we angled ourselves towards downtown. "That's something not worth keeping, if you ask me!"

It didn't take us long to make it to the roof of the building, and after that all we had to do was wait until Azami or Yoru felt Ikuto and his strange egg of the heart leave the building. So while we were waiting, I asked Yoru to tell me exactly what had been happening to Ikuto.

To my disappointment, he wasn't able to tell me much. Apparently, Ikuto had had his violin stolen a while back, and this violin happened to be his prized possession since it was his father's old violin. Eventually, the violin reappeared right where it had been stolen from, and Ikuto and Yoru didn't think much more about the theft. And for a while, everything was fine.

But then Ikuto started going off in the night without saying anything to Yoru about it. Yoru followed him, and he saw Ikuto character transforming with a black egg and using his violin to pull out people's hearts' eggs. But Ikuto never remembered anything about this in the morning, and he still refused to give up his violin. Eventually, Yoru saw the scientists at Easter operating the tuning fork from a panel van, and he put two and two together. Then Ikuto disappeared completely, and it wasn't for a while that Yoru found him being held at Easter.

"So why didn't you just sneak in and steal the tuning fork yourself?" I asked after a while.

Yoru shook his head. "I tried once, but I had to drop the fork and run. There's no way they're letting it out of their sight! That's why we've got to use force, nya~."

"Hey, quit chatting and pay attention!" Azami said, looking over the edge of the building; we'd dropped the chara-nari upon arriving on the roof, so that we would have three pairs of eyes on lookou. "Yoru, is that him I feel going into that van down there?"

Yoru shot towards where Azami was and looked down at the person walking out of the building. From this height, whoever it was was little more than an ant on the pavement. "Yep, that's Ikuto for sure, nya~!" Yoru said excitedly. "Let's follow 'em, nya~!"

Azami and I character transformed once again. "All right, then. Let's go!" I jumped off the roof and began tailing the van from the air; thankfully, it was night, and so I wasn't about to cause a commotion by flying a bit lower than usual. "So Yoru, you got a plan for this?"

"Get in their and knock their socks off, nya~!" He said, punching his clenched paw into the air as he flew alongside me.

I grinned. "Well, that's just about my plan. But I figure I'll wait until they have Ikuto working, then go in and grab that tuning fork. As fun as a fight with Ikuto would be, I'm not sure if either of us could come out of it in one piece… After all, we don't know what Easter has been doing to Ikuto to make him strong enough to change people's eggs into X-eggs."

"Aw… I wanted a fight!" Azami pouted. "This'll be boring without one!"

"Maybe. Then again, you never know what kind of tricks Easter might have up its sleeve," I replied.

"They're stopping, nya~!" Yoru interrupted before Azami could say anything more. I looked down and, sure enough, the van was stopping in the middle of a run-down housing development not far from downtown. Almost as soon as it stopped, the rear doors of the van opened and Ikuto appeared, apparently already character transformed.

This was my first time seeing this transformation, and so I took a good long look at him as he walked to the end of the block. He was wearing a long, cloak-like black jacket with dark fur trim along the collar. He still had his black cat ears and tail despite the fact that he wasn't transforming with Yoru, which seemed odd to me. On his feet were tall black boots, and in one of his hands was his violin.

"I'm not that impressed," Azami said.

"Agreed," I replied. "He doesn't even have a weapon, unless you count the violin."

Yoru flew right in front of my face. "Don't just brush him off, nya~! That violin can turn into a scythe! I saw him fight Tadase with it one night – it's pretty dangerous, nya~!"

"Then this just got a whole lot more exciting," I said, just as Ikuto pulled the violin up to his chin and began playing. He played the same song that I'd heard before, yet there was a new quality to it: a darkness behind the sad notes, or perhaps a malevolence beneath the haunting melody. Whatever it was, it had the same effect on me as Utau's singing always had. The X-energy within me rose up even beyond my normal chara-nari levels, coursing through me in waves eager to create more hopelessness and despair.

"Well, I guess now's as good a time as any to begin," I said just before diving down and landing lightly behind the van. Tentatively, I tried to open the doors, but they had been locked as soon as Ikuto left. Knowing that I might not have much time if the Easter employees within realized I was out here, I decided to force my way in. Flames leapt into my hands, and I threw a handful of little fireballs as hard as I could at where the locking mechanism was.

Though powerful, the flames didn't go all the way through; but they did manage to dent the doors enough that I figured I could probably force them open now. I grabbed a hold of the handles once again and pulled and, with a little jostling, managed to get the last vestiges of the broken lock to give way.

Inside was lots of machinery, the three goofy scientists, and – most importantly – the tuning fork, secured atop some machinery in the very center of the back of the van. I heard a humming coming from it, exactly like the humming I'd distantly heard the last time I'd seen Ikuto.

_So this is what was causing the noise that day I talked to Mai and Amu._

"Miyuki, watch out, nya~!"

I wasn't stupid enough to turn and see what I was watching out for; instinct took over for me instead, and I jumped into the air just in time to avoid the slice of a very sharp, very deadly looking scythe.

I held my place in the air for a moment as Ikuto looked up at me. "Sheesh. Looks like this might be more difficult than I thought."

"Yamada-san!" the female scientist suddenly shouted up at me. "You're not supposed to be here. Kazuomi will be angry. It'd be best if you left!"

"I'd rather not!" I shouted back down, still keeping a wary eye on Ikuto. "You see, I'm quite interested in that tuning fork you've got there. I was thinking about taking up an instrument, but I don't have any way to tune it. Mind if I borrow it?"

The humming suddenly became louder, and a flash of something metallic I saw out of the corner of my eye was the only warning I received. I closed my wings and let myself drop in the air, yet again just barely missing the cutting scythe. But this time, Ikuto didn't pause; as soon as he landed, he lunged at me again.

_He's fast, _I thought grimly as I flew along the ground, not having enough time to gain back my previous altitude. My flying was faster than his running, though, and as soon as I'd put ample space between us I flew up higher, hoping to get out of range of his jumps.

"Dark Night Storm!" I suddenly heard shouted out from behind me, just before getting hit with an immense tempest of X-energy so sharp that I felt it cutting through my skin and wings as I tumbled through the air.

It blew me out of his range soon enough, and I recovered and flew even higher into the air. The attack had taken it's toll, though; I was covered in small gashes, and my wings were sliced up enough that my flight wasn't nearly as effortless as it should have been. I flinched with pain at every wingbeat. Yet as I glared down at Ikuto, I realized that the attack had been nothing compared to my own power. Now that I was out of range of his attacks, I knew I had the advantage.

"The van's getting away, you know," Azami said within me. "What're you gonna do about it?"

Dark fire burst from my hands once again, this time accompanied by a thick haze of black smoke. "Hopeless Haze, to start," I said, sending the cloud down in a wide area all around Ikuto and the van, forcing the blinded vehicle to come to a stop. "And I figure a little blazing barrage couldn't hurt, either," I added, throwing down a couple balls of fire. They hit the two wheels closest to me, making the vehicle's immobility permanent.

I looked back down to Ikuto, to see what he was up to; to my surprise, he was looking directly at me despite the obscuring haze around him. _If he can still see me through the smoke, then I'll just have to incapacitate him before going for the tuning fork. _

I dove towards him with my hands still covered in flames, then sent a hail of smaller fireballs toward him. His catlike reflexes allowed him to dodge the worst of the fire, but a couple still managed to hit him and explode on contact, knocking him down.

"Have they always been that explosive?" I asked as I continued to dive towards Ikuto, keeping up my momentum as best I could.

"Beats me!" Azami replied. "But it sure is nice!"

Ikuto had just managed to get up when I slammed into him with the full force of my dive. I kept the full force of my weight on top of him as he slid across the hard pavement of the street. It wasn't until we came to a complete stop that I released him from my grasp and stood up.

"Well, maybe I overdid it a little," I said, looking at him as he lay on the ground, scythe still in his hand and chara-nari outfit still remaining. I turned and headed casually towards the van. "That good-for-nothing cat will thank me for it in the long run, though."

But just when I'd thought I'd won, circumstances began to change in quick succession. Yoru shouted something at me, and by a chance turn of my head I saw that Ikuto was up and ready to hit me with his scythe. I prepared to jump up and out of the way, but suddenly the physical and mental pain of the X-energy seemingly opening a hole in my soul paralyzed me. Kazuomi or Yukari or someone had pressed the button on the crystal; it was just like those couple of other times that they'd decided to punish me for something. The only difference was that those times, I'd at least been somewhat prepared for it. This time, I was experiencing all the pain of the Darkness without any of the warning I normally had.

And this raging Darkness within me was so great that when Ikuto's scythe cut into my side, I didn't so much as feel its sting.

The knowledge of the scythe slicing into me was the last thing I knew of the world around me for a long time after that. The Darkness was just so intense and so overwhelming that I was unconscious of everything else. Complete and utter despair engulfed me so entirely that, for the long duration of the attack, I lost all sense of self. I was no longer a person; I was all the agony of living, and the total desire for death. When it finally ended, I fell unconscious for a while. My body and mind were simply unable to tolerate what I had been through, yet they had been unable to retreat into the peace of oblivion while the attack of the Darkness had still been occurring.

When I finally woke again, the first thing I was aware of was Darkness and pain, both in equal parts. The pain originated mostly for my stomach, which felt as if it had been torn in two. Numerous other cuts and bruises also stung my body, but they were like insect bites in comparison to whatever was wrong with my stomach. And the Darkness, for its part, was still lingering after the crystal-induced punishment. Though the pain it caused was nothing like before, the Darkness exaggerated it and forced my mind to travel paths that I'd rather have avoided.

_I'm worthless. I deserve this pain. I can't be a dragon; I can't be a friend. Why must I want either friendship or dragonhood? Why can't I just forget them… Why can't I run from the pain? _

I opened my eyes eventually, not necessarily because I was eager to awake. It was more of a mechanical thing. In my half rational, half Darkened state of mind, it hardly mattered one way or another whether I was awake or asleep. From what I saw, my brain managed to register that I was back in my room at Easter, lying on the couch in the living area. The room was black aside from one dim light sitting next to the chair on the other side of the room.

"I see you've awoken, to an extent," came a voice from near the lamp. I didn't bother looking over; I knew the voice was Yukari's, and it hardly seemed necessary that I turn my head to see her sitting in the chair next to the light. She continued, "That was quite a naughty thing that you did earlier, my little lizard. Judging by the wound on your stomach and your current mental state, I'd say you paid for it dearly. Were you really willing to go through all that, just to save a worthless friend like Ikuto?"

I heard her words as they echoed through my empty mind, but I didn't feel alive enough to respond.

Yukari seemed undaunted by my silence. "Don't worry, we got you all stitched up. Ikuto had orders not to kill, though I must say he got awfully close to cutting up all your internal organs. Wouldn't that have been awful?"

My imagination conjured up an image of me lying cut open in the street, slowly dying. _I wish it wasn't just my imagination, though, _I thought. _If that had actually happened, then I'd be dead now. No Darkness, no worries, no pain, no thoughts of friends or dragons…_

"You know, I take back what I said just a moment ago. About you going through the pain to save a friend. If you can't even be friends with those Guardian dolts, then how could you be friends with a stray like Ikuto? No, I bet you just did it to spite Easter. Am I right?

I didn't respond.

She sighed. "You know, this conversation is feeling very one-sided. Why don't you tell me what you're feeling right now? What is it that you want that you thought you could get by saving Ikuto?"

My lips moved and sound came out, but the words were too soft for Yukari to make out.

"Say again, my little lizard?"

"…I want to be a dragon…"

"Oh, isn't that charming! The little lizard wants to grow wings and fly away!" Yukari said, treating it like the childish idea that the Darkness was currently making me see it as. "But don't you know, Miyuki, that dragons don't exist? Your dream isn't a fully-fledged dream. It isn't like Ikuto's desire to be free, or Amu's desire to help others, or Tadase's desire to be a stronger person. No, Azami is just a passing daydream."

Another voice suddenly came from somewhere near my head. "That's not true," said the little dragon, though her voice lacked much emphasis; she was just as steeped in Darkness as I was. "We can figure out a way. If becoming a dragon was easy to do, then it wouldn't be as big of a dream. It certainly wouldn't be a dream worthy of Miyuki."

"Oh, but it's hardly a question of whether the dream is worthy of you, is it, Miyuki?" Yukari teased. "The real question is this: do you really believe that you are worthy of such a dream?"

"…No…"

To the right of me, movement drew my eye. I looked over and saw Azami floating in the air, frantically trying to push apart the two shell halves that had appeared above and below her. "Miyuki, don't listen to her!" she shouted at me, panic bringing her fully to her senses and out of the Darkness.

"But listen, Miyuki," Yukari said to me over Azami's shouts. "There is a way for you to have your power and still become a dragon, of sorts. You could get rid of all the pain, both physical and mental. There would be no more confusion about what is right for you and what is wrong. No more pressure of making your own decisions. All you have to do is give up a tiny bit of your dream and submit your will to the will of Easter. How does that sound?"

The shell grew tighter around Azami as I muttered, "Submit… my will?"

"Yes, just think about it, my little lizard," she said soothingly. "All you need do is give up the freedom of a dragon. It's overrated. That's what brings you pain. You could still have all your power, and you could even take on more than you could possibly imagine right now. Just let Easter handle your decisions for you. So, what do you say, my potential dragon?"

The egg around Azami snapped shut; but for the moment, it kept its customary coloration without the added adornment of a white 'X'. I saw this, but it hardly seemed a bother. The pain of losing Azami, too… Easter could take away that, as well. The Darkness told me so.

I closed my eyes again. "Submit… to Easter… I'm tired of the pain. If I could get rid of that… Then I suppose I don't need freedom."

The mostly black egg floating in the air darkened, and the white 'X' finally appeared. And when I opened my hollow, grey-colored eyes once again, the person lying on the couch was no longer truly me. It was if the Darkness was no longer simply directing my thoughts; rather, it and my thoughts had seamlessly become one. I was little more than an empty husk.

"Oh, but you can't leave your chara like that, can you?" Yukari said, looking over to X-egg still hovering near me. "Easter needs you to have an X-chara, not an X-egg. And you still want your power, don't you?"

_Easter needs me to have an X-chara. I want power. Easter needs an X-chara. _

A cracking sound rang through the room, and the two halves of the egg flew apart once again. But the Azami that emerged from the egg was not the Azami of the past months. Her violet hair was now short, not unlike my own almost spiky haircut; she now wore a faded, ripped up outfit of black jeans and a black t-shirt emblazoned with a bit white 'X'; a simple leather collar encircled her neck; and most notably, her eyes held all the dragonish greed for power as before, but without the previous fierce joy that came from being the sole decider of her actions.

Another person suddenly stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light of the single lamp. "Wonderful job, Sanjo-san," Kazuomi said, a dark satisfaction in his voice. "You manipulated her dream in just the right way to make her most useful to us. We'll wait until later to see if she can still character-transform. For now, though…" He turned to me. I looked back at him, with eyes that were somehow both blank and expectant. "Yamada Miyuki, you are not to leave this room, nor exert yourself in any way. You will recover here before we send you back to work. Understood?"

I stared back at him for a few moments, as if slowly comprehending his words. Then, in a voice completely free of emotion, I responded:

"Understood."

* * *

So when I said that I was going to update erratically, I didn't mean there'd be a whole month between chapters... So sorry about that. I've been so busy with pre- and post-graduation that I almost feel like I can excuse myself for it... Almost.

Hopefully, now that I'm in a less busy part of the summer, I'll manage to get out a chapter of this every week or two; it'd be for sure every week, if not for my pokémon fanfic having first priority.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it! Things are going to start getting pretty intense now, so I hope you'll like it! ^_^


	22. Assessment of Skills

"Tonight should be a good night to test her abilities, don't you think?" I heard Kazuomi ask Yukari, though I forgot his words in a couple seconds. Nearly two weeks had passed since Azami had turned into an X-chara, though I personally had little grasp of this passing of time. All I had done was sit in my room in Easter, moving only when I had to go to the bathroom or when food was set in front of me. I had absolutely nothing else to do during this long wait for my healing to progress, but the perpetual Darkness kept my mind occupied enough.

"Yes, tonight should work," Yukari said. "That's not to say that we won't experience some difficulties; there's always the chance one of those Guardians will stumble across her, even if we avoid the neighborhoods around Seiyo. Regardless of that, we need to assess her strengths. She's not quite fully healed, but the gash in her stomach has scabbed over enough that the worst that could happen is some minor reopening of the wound. She'll have time enough to recover from that again once we know what to plan."

Kazuomi nodded, and looked over to where I was lying down on the couch in my room; I stared unseeingly back. "Then proceed, Sanjo-san," he said. "Collect X-eggs and make sure to avoid the Guardians as best you can. Oh, and take this with you." He handed her the small electrified remote with the crystal in it, looped onto a thin but strong wire that could fit around someone's wrist for added security. "She shouldn't give you any trouble based on her complacency these past two weeks, but this way you have an alternative just in case."

Yukari bowed her head slightly as Kazuomi finished his orders and left the room. Then she turned to me, held out something in her hand, and said, "Put this on. It's an earpiece that will let you hear my commands. It also records low-quality sound and video, even in the dark; I'll be able to know exactly what you're doing, so don't try to do anything other than what I order you to do. Understand?"

"Yes, Sanjo-san," I said as I got up and put on the small communicator.

"Now go up to the roof and wait for my commands. Is that clear?"

It could hardly be any clearer, especially to someone whose existence was now focused on Yukari's commands and the commands of Easter as a whole. "Yes, Sanjo-san." I left immediately; I heard Yukari follow me out of the room and close the door behind me, but since this hardly applied to my orders I quickly forgot about it. I also heard Yukari follow me to the elevator and I saw her get into the same elevator as me. Still, I didn't give it a second thought.

She followed me out onto the night-darkened rooftop, and once we were there she finally said, "Miyuki, I need you to character transform."

I looked over to Azami, who had instinctually followed me throughout all this. She was very unlike an regular X-chara in the sense that she didn't have the natural, excitedly mischievous attitude that came so natural to those almost identical black hatchlings. She was much more similar to how Dia had been during her own time as an X-chara. Azami was reserved and listless; nothing seemed to motivate her, and so far she had said nothing in the entire time since we'd succumbed to the Darkness. When I looked up at her now, she seemed just as uncaring as she had been these entire two weeks. But she had heard Yukari's command for a chara-nari, and she knew what was required of us. Without so much as a word between us, we began our transformation.

At first, everything seemed the same as always; the foggy darkness completely engulfed us, shielding us from the view of everyone but each other. But after I pulled Azami in her X-egg into myself, the changes that began were rather different than they ever had been before.

Once all the changes were over, the darkness disappeared and Yukari had the chance to see my new form in the half-light of the city at night. Rather than my usual red color, both my pendant (which somehow always remained present when I transformed) and my eyes had turned black as pitch, giving my face an almost demonic look. I had wings and a tail once again, though I lacked the horns I'd had before. But not even the wings and tail were quite the same; both were black instead of violet, and the thin membranes of the wings were practically ripped to shreds. It was as if they'd never healed after my battle with Ikuto, though that wasn't the case - this torn-up look was simply how they were now. My nails were still black-colored and sharp, just as they had been before.

My outfit was extremely similar to Azami's black jeans and X-emblazoned black t-shirt. The only differences were that my jeans were quite ripped all along the legs, and the short-sleeved shirt I had on was covered all over with randomly-placed white X's. The tennis shoes that came with the outfit were dirty and beat up as well. All together, it gave me a very grunge sort of look.

Perhaps the strangest difference overall had to do with exactly how my dragon pendant and orb were fastened around my neck. Encircling my neck was a thick leather choker, with the pendant secured into the leather itself in the front. A chain fell from the back of this choker, and two more dangled onto my back from the sides of it. Similarly, two leather bracelets were fastened tightly around my wrists, each with a chain of its own hanging from it.

Yukari looked at me appraisingly. "Can you fly with those torn wings of yours?"

"Yes, Sanjo-san."

"All right, then. Wait here and listen to that earpiece for my orders." Yukari headed back to the elevator. And as per my orders, I waited patiently, hardly even moving.

Eventually, Yukari's voice buzzed into my ear. "If you move over to the front of the building, you'll see a black car leaving. Follow it from the air and always keep it in sight. As we move, I want you to collect X-eggs as best you can. Did you get all that, Miyuki?"

"Yes, Sanjo-san," I said like the zombie that I was, just before jumping off the edge of the roof and taking to the skies. Despite the rips and tears in my wings, my flying hardly seemed to be affected; if anything, I was a much better flyer than I ever had been before.

As soon as I spotted the car heading down the road, I followed it and began with the second part of Yukari's command. Black flames sprung to my hands, but unlike before, these weren't nearly so contained; they crawled up my arm nearly to my elbows, and dripped onto my leather bracelets until the full lengths of the chains hanging from my wrists were also covered in the dark fire. Though this fire was very different, the Hopeless Haze was much the same as it always had been. It came in copious amounts from the fire, and this smoke I willed to the ground as I flew.

Even considering that we were in the business district and not many people were there at this time of night, within minutes my smoke had already drawn out several people's X-eggs. And as we progressed into more residential neighborhoods, more and more eggs were drawn to me. I hardly even had to work for it. With the X-energy completely dominating my own existence, it was apparently much easier to create the feelings of doubt and sadness and anger in those that came in contact with my haze.

After over an hour had passed and I'd managed to collect several dozen X-eggs, I once again heard Yukari's voice in my ear. "There's a small park that we'll be pulling up to soon. First make sure that no one will bother us, then land and demonstrate what all you are capable of in your current form; use the X-eggs as targets, if you must."

The park was already in my view, just a couple blocks away. I flew ahead a little, made sure my Hopeless Haze pretty well covered the whole surrounding area. As soon as the car pulled up, I landed and began testing what all abilities I had in this form.

First I threw a hail of fireballs towards the X-eggs; most of them dodged and escaped, but several shattered upon being hit. All the eggs now watched me warily, though so powerful was the draw of my own X-energy that they didn't dare actually leave.

With my hands and forearms still flaming, I instinctually willed my chains to life. The five of them stretched, rose up, and coiled in the air around me, seemingly taking on a life of their own. The two hanging from my wrist were still on fire, and these I willed to lash out against the X-eggs; meanwhile, I made the three hanging from my neck snake out and coil around what eggs they could catch, though I didn't bother to have them crush their little captives.

Then I had the chains shrink and return to me, so that they were once again nothing more than limp ornaments. I stood there dumbly for a few moments after, prompting Yukari's voice to say into my ear, "Is that it? Nothing more?"

I shook my head. Though it was hard for me to know what exactly I might be able to manage, attacks were still coming to my mind. Now I spread my wings to the fullest, and suddenly the gaps and holes and tears all filled with X-energy, making the wings seem almost whole again. Then I flapped my wings once, as forcefully as I could manage without launching myself into the air. The spots of X-energy that had filled the holes were sent flying forward on a massive gust of wind. As they flew through the air, they sharpened into almost dagger-like projectiles, destroying almost half of the X-eggs that were left.

"Now that's all," I said, my voice empty of any of the satisfaction I would have felt in a normal state.

"All right, then, get into the air and – wait, is there someone out there? I hear someone else through the microphone on your earpiece," Yukari said.

Up until now, I had ignored the voice calling my name; it had seemed irrelevant. Now that Yukari had asked the question, though, I turned and looked around. Standing barely twenty feet away from me was Mai, who had a pained look in her eyes. She had quite sloppily thrown on a jacket over her pajamas; Suzume had presumably felt the presences of Azami and all the X-eggs, prompting Mai to come running from wherever she had been sleeping.

As soon as Mai saw that she finally had my attention, she said, "Miyuki, what's happened? Why is…? Did Azami really…?" She of course couldn't see Azami right now due to the chara-nari, but no doubt she could guess the truth or Suzume could sense that Azami had turned into an X-chara.

"That's you're old Guardian friend, isn't it?" Yukari asked. "She shouldn't be around here; we're miles away from Seiyo."

"She has relatives here," I said as the memory came unbidden to my mind.

Mai scowled. "Who're you talking to? Miyuki, snap out of this! Did you really give up on your dream?"

"Kazuomi didn't want us to start anything tonight… " Yukari mumbled. "Although it could be problematic if this girl saw what all you could do… Oh, well. Best to stick to orders. Miyuki, we're heading back; you can go on ahead of me to Easter. Just wait on the roof until I meet you there."

"Yes, Sanjo-san," I said before launching into the air, not even registering Mai's dismayed shouts.

After a short flight, I landed on the roof and waited with my X-eggs for about twenty minutes. The night was warm and rather balmy, but the humidity didn't bother me. Nothing really bothered me. Even Mai's forlorn look as I flew away had already been wiped from my mind. As Yukari always said, I was really and truly Easter's little lizard, nothing more than a beast raised to obey orders.

When Yukari finally reappeared, she was not alone. Kazuomi was with her, as well as two goons carrying X-egg sacks. I naturally ordered the eggs into the bags, then followed Kazuomi and Yukari back to my room at their command.

As we went, they spoke with each other. "So Sanjo-san... Have you looked into when would be the best time to implement your proposed plan?"

Yukari pushed up her glasses as a satisfied grin infected her face, as if she'd been hoping he'd ask that question. "I have. Midnight has passed, correct? In that case, it's Sunday now. All schools in the city finish with classes sometime in the next four days, meaning that the big start-of-summer carnival at the fairgrounds will be this weekend, starting Friday evening. It would be the perfect chance to lure the Guardians into a trap."

"In that case, start the preparations," Kazuomi said, apparently satisfied with that idea. "And Yukari – don't fail me like Nikaido did."

Yukari's grin grew. "I wouldn't dream of it, Kazuomi-san."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It wasn't until the next afternoon that Mai returned home and finally had a chance to talk to the Guardians about what had happened the previous night.

"Tamiya-san, what is this all about?" Kairi asked as soon as everyone had assembled in a park near the school; they couldn't go to the Royal Garden, seeing as it was a weekend. "We all have many tests coming up in the next three days. We should be studying."

"She said it was an emergency, Sanjo-kun," Tadase said. "Let's just hear what she has to say."

Mai took a deep breath. She hadn't been able to tell anyone anything over the phone; now she had to break the news. "It's Miyuki, guys," she said quietly as she looked at the ground, sadness ringing clearly even in her soft voice. "I saw her last night. She had a bunch of X-eggs with her. She was destroying some of them – I think she was being ordered to by someone nearby, because I saw a car there. But it's just that… It's just that Azami, she, um… She's an X-chara now."

Rima was the first to react; she brushed a strand of hair out of her face and said uncaringly, "It's as much as she deserved."

"That's not nice to say, Rima-chan!" Yaya pouted. "Even if Miyuki hasn't been nice, it's sad that this happened to her and Azami!"

"I can hardly believe it," Amu said. "Miyuki always seemed so strong, in her own way… But Dia thought it was going to happen. I couldn't believe it when she said so that first time, either."

Tadase frowned, for once not going off on a tirade about Miyuki's betrayal. "Tamiya-san, you said that Miyuki was destroying X-eggs… How was she doing that if Azami is an X-chara?"

"She was character-transformed, somehow," Mai said. "But it was all different from her usual chara-nari. She still had the wings, but her outfit and some of the attacks I saw her using were different. She could still use flames, but she also had some chains that sort of worked like Rima's tightrope attack… And she could send off gusts of sharpened X-energy, too. It scared me just watching, mainly because she just looked so… so empty. Like a robot, or something."

"This is very worrisome," Tadase said, his scowl deepening. "We don't know what could happen. The only time someone has transformed with an X-chara was when Utau transformed with Dia, and we saw how much more powerful that made her when it came to using X-energy. And Dia wasn't even Utau's own chara."

"Normally X-charas leave their humans to cause trouble, don't they?" Kairi asked.

Tadase nodded. "Sanjo-kun, you're still living at your sister's place. Has your sister said anything about any new plans of Easter's? I can't help but think that this new move by Easter could be a prelude to something bigger."

"My sister hasn't been home much lately," Kairi said. "I haven't heard anything yet, but I'll try to figure out what's going on the next time I see her."

Suddenly Mai spoke up again, in a voice both quiet and demanding of attention. "You guys… You're treating this like just another Easter plan to be stopped. Miyuki is…" At this point, Mai suddenly looked up and glared angrily at Tadase, Kairi, and Rima. "Miyuki is a person, too! She was your friend once, and she still is mine! We have to help her!"

Tadase and Rima were both struck dumb; however, Kairi managed to respond. "Tamiya-san, I apologize if I sounded inconsiderate," he said, with true remorse obviously detectable beneath his polite words. "I saw what was happening to Miyuki while I still worked for Easter, and I know that whatever's going on had been hurting her a lot. I feel partly responsible for not trying to stop it while I still had my sister's trust. I agree that we have to help her."

Ran floated in front of Amu's face. "Amu-chan, you agree with Kairi, right?"

Amu smiled and looked to Mai. "Ran's right. I want to help Miyuki. But Mai… We can only do so much if you don't tell us everything. You know what's been wrong with Miyuki this whole time, don't you? For Miyuki's sake, why don't you tell us?"

"Miyuki made me promise…" Mai started to say. But then she took a deep breath and saud, "But you're right. For Miyuki's sake, I'll tell you guys. I just hope she doesn't hate me for it later… The thing is, Easter's using some crystal thing to control her. Or they were, at least. I don't really understand it all, but I guess at first Miyuki and Azami would get X-energy whenever they touched it, and that's all they thought there was to it. But a couple months ago, Easter started using the crystal to hurt her. She tried describing it to me once… It sounded like it almost uses the X-energy inside her to rip open her soul. After she found out about it, she didn't dare disobey Easter anymore."

"Anymore?" Rima asked incredulously, having recovered from Mai's earlier outburst. "Since when did she ever disobey Easter?"

Suu floated happily over to Rima. "She rescued me, desu~! When Nikaidou was working for Easter, he kidnapped me and almost drowned me in X-energy! If Miyuki hadn't fought him, it would've been terrible, desu~!"

"It was before you came to Seiyo," Amu added. "And it's one of the reasons I know that Miyuki deserves to be saved. She's not all bad."

"So Mai-chan!" Yaya shouted enthusiastically. "Do you think that if we got this crystal, we could help Miyuki-chan and she'll be nice again?"

"Azami will still need to be purified, I would think," Kairi said. "That might be difficult, though. How can a chara be purified when it's transforming with its owner?"

"We'll figure out something," Tadase said. "I still resent Miyuki, but I'll admit that she'll be less dangerous to us if we can get rid of her X-energy or steal that crystal. We'll think about it and talk more tomorrow. Everyone should make sure to keep an eye out, in case Easter starts whatever it's planning sometime soon. I have a bad feeling that things are about to get much worse than they have been since Miyuki declared where her true allegiances lie."

* * *

So... Short and weird chapter, I know. I'm just sort of going with whatever feels natural to write. In this case, that meant switching over to third person halfway through the chapter; the line of colons was supposed to be a perspective/time break, so hopefully the switch didn't throw you off too much, since I think there was only one exception earlier on in the story where I went to third person perspective for any large amount of time.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Next chapter ought to be pretty good, so hopefully you'll enjoy it! ^_^


	23. Carnival of Change

I was surrounded by organized chaos.

All around me, people were rushing this way and that to get into a line for carnival rides; this included everyone from young children all the way up to teens, and of course the large number of parents accompanying those kids too young to hang out by themselves at this start-of-summer fair. The scents of stale hotdogs, exhaust, sweat, and dried puke filled my nose, and no matter which way I turned I was either blinded by flashing lights or deafened by the music blasting out from some ride or another.

Despite all these negatives, the people around me were having the best times of their lives. The smells, the sights, the sounds… All of these aspects were but a part of the larger picture. Not only was this a large carnival; it was a large carnival to celebrate the beginning of summer break. The excitement and enthusiasm emanating from the students around me was almost palpable.

Of course, I was wholly ignorant to the joy. I lurked in the shadows created by all the brightness around me, in both a literal and figurative sense. The energy of everyone around me only made me feel more alone and more depressed. My brain clinged to the idea that Easter was the only thing I could rely on, the only thing that could give me strength even greater than that of the happiness of those around me.

Yukari's voice suddenly came through my earpiece; despite all the noise around me, I somehow managed to make out her words. "The Guardians have been sighted at the entrance to the fairgrounds."

"Do you want me to attack now, Sanjo-san?" I asked, my mind naturally seeking to do Easter's will.

"Not yet. We'll wait a while until they've dropped their guard and are completely enjoying themselves. Then we'll begin the plan. Until then, stay hidden."

I was currently sitting in the darkness between two of the carnival game tents, secluded enough that the carnival attendees were too distracted by everything else around them to notice. As per my orders, I'd chosen a place rather centrally located; presumably this was so the Guardians would have less time to react when the plan began.

I sat in my little hiding place for nearly an hour more after that. Though I didn't currently have the best view of everything going on, I noticed that more and more people were passing the game tents on either side of me. As the evening progressed, the carnival was becoming more and more lively, just as Easter had planned.

Finally, the order came through. "Miyuki, we've managed to get the ride operators to synchronize their ride times for a few minutes; right now, all passengers are disembarking, so no one will be able to avoid your Hopeless Haze while within a ride. Begin the plan now."

I immediately character-transformed, and in a matter of seconds my Hopeless Haze was spreading all across the fairgrounds. It was as if the carnival itself was nothing more than a giant candle suddenly blown out by a great gust of wind; the lights all seemed darker due to the smoke in the air, and all the energy that had previously filled the air dissipated to nothing. Or, rather, worse than nothing; the negative energy that pervaded the air made the darkness seem even thicker than the normal dimness of night.

As soon as I was sure that my smoke had reached every corner of the carnival, I stepped out from my hiding spot and flew into the air. As I rose higher and higher, the X-eggs of hundreds of people rose from their humans to greet me. As Easter had realized when they'd tested me, my chara-nari with X-Azami could much more effectively draw out the despair that people held in their hearts.

Once I reached my desired altitude, I glided over and landed on the topmost basket of the Ferris wheel. It rocked slightly beneath my feet, but I paid it no mind. All of my attention was focused on six people at the other end of the rides area of the carnival, the only people in sight who were unaffected by the haze that hung around them.

I watched as five of them were cocooned in a bright light; and as their transformations finished, I heard Yukari's voice in my ear once more:

"All the pieces are in place. Let the game begin."

With a casual wave of my hand, I sent the massive flock of X-eggs down to the Guardians. The attack came quickly enough that Tadase just barely managed to shield himself, the Guardians, and all the dull-eyed bystanders around him from the sudden onslaught of X-energy.

A blast of pink energy soon purified a small section of the eggs, forcing me to go down and join the battle; as per Easter's orders, as many X-eggs as possible were needed for this plan. Before Amu could manage to cleanse any more eggs, I landed right in the middle of the group and extended the chains that hung at my neck and wrists. The clinking of the metal links was the only brief warning that the Guardians had before the five character-transformed humans were wrapped up and held in the air around me. Only Mai remained outside of my grasp, but she was hardly a threat to me.

The flapping of my wings while landing had cleared the smoke that had allowed me to get so close to them without them noticing. Now, as the five Guardians struggled against their bonds, they finally saw me in my new form.

"Miyuki, release us!" Tadase demanded. "You can't-" He was cut off as I tightened my chain's grip on his body to near bone-crushing force.

"Tadase!" Amu exclaimed, seeing his pain.

Yaya, meanwhile, was kicking violently in midair. "Yaya-chan wants down! Yaya-chan wants DOWN!"

"Miyuki, please stop this!" Mai begged, though she kept her distance; she knew that at the moment, she could be of little help to the other Guardians. "I know you're in there somewhere, and I know you don't want to hurt them! Please, stop!" Floating near Mai were Suzume, Dia, Miki, and Suu; my eyes immediately locked onto Dia.

"Remember your target," Yukari's voice said in my ear as I ignored Mai. "Our goal is to create the Embryo, not mess around with these children. Dia has been deemed our most likely candidate; grab her and get to the machine!"

I threw all the Guardians down to the ground and leapt towards Mai and the charas. No one had been expecting the move, and so I had little trouble catching the yellow chara.

"What are you doing with me?" Dia asked as I flapped my wings and rose into the air. For once, her calm but determined look had been replaced with fear. I didn't answer, but I was soon forced to drop her as ropes twined around my legs and arms, halting my forward momentum and sending me crashing to the ground, knocking over several of the zombified bystanders in the process.

The impact hardly fazed me. I quickly set my arms on fire, and the ropes around them practically disintegrated; all I had to do was touch my legs with my burning hands to cause the ropes there to disappear as well. Despite how quickly I'd recovered, I had now lost the advantage of surprise I'd had before. I needed to get to Dia, but now all the Guardians were ready and waiting for any of my attempts.

"Miyuki, what were you going to do with Dia?" Amu asked, looking almost as scared as Dia had been a moment ago. However, along with that fear was anger and determination; one scare like that was far from enough to make Amu back down.

I didn't answer. I was too intent on the group of five standing in front of me. I needed to find the perfect opportunity to make my move. For the moment, neither they nor I was eager to make that first move, however, leaving us at a temporary impasse. I tensed when Tadase leaned over and said something to Yaya, but remained little more than a statue when Yaya made her little duckies appear and swarm all over the place, pushing all of the innocent, dull-eyed fairgoers as far away as possible. Some of them had already been knocked around due to the previous struggle. I didn't stop her, mainly because I knew that her ducks were no threat to me, but also because it was in Easter's best interest if, when people halfway recovered from tonight, they didn't begin to make inquiries about the mysterious bruises they received.

"Yukari, I know you're listening somewhere!" Kairi suddenly said as the duckies finished doing their job and disappeared. "And I know you don't want to be doing this! You talk to yourself when you don't think I'm around. I know you don't approve of what you've done to Miyuki. You've taught yourself not to mind weak people letting go of their dreams… You tried to teach me that same lesson. But I know you've just barely been able to stand manipulating a strong soul like Miyuki. You-"

"Miyuki, I've had enough of that," Yukari said tersely as Kairi continued, her voice somewhat strained. "Hurry up and finish the mission."

My arms were still covered with black fire, and this I threw towards the Guardians. Tadase shielded the others, and then as soon as the first barrage had dissipated, they all ran forward for an attack. I lashed out with my chains; Yaya, Tadase, and Rima all fell back, but both Amu and Kairi somehow managed to dodge the chains and get in close. I was hit in quick succession, first in the stomach by Amu's Amulet Rod, and then in the side of the head with the flat of one of Kairi's blades. I felt the earpiece shatter against my ear, cutting off any further commands I might have received from Yukari.

I retaliated before Amu and Kairi could get away again. The chains lashed out with lives of their own and grabbed the two of them. This made me less maneuverable, but now at least I had two of the Guardians temporarily immobilized.

"Now you can't hear my sister's orders, Yamada-san," Kairi said from above me, dismayed but not surprised that he'd been captured once again. "Can you act without commands?"

He was right to think that I couldn't have acted without commands; but the thing was, I already had my orders. I knew what Easter expected of me tonight. Even if Yukari couldn't give me play-by-play directions now, I still could act on my own. I gathered up all the smoke in the area once again to hide my presence and make another try for Dia, but any attempt at stealth was ruined by my captives.

"Guys, she's right here!" Amu shouted out as the smoke became so thick that no one other than me could see. "Don't worry about Kairi and me – try to attack!"

Rima sent a swarm of juggling pins towards me; most of them missed their marks, and those that got close I diverted with my three other chains. Yaya sent some of her rubber duckies towards my, but I literally ignored them. I knew that there was only so much I could do so long as the Guardians could attack, so I once again repeated my strategy from before by wrapping them up while they could do nothing to defend against the snakelike chains. Tadase and Rima both screamed with pain as the chains first touched them; since they were of the greatest risk at the moment, they had been the special two to receive the flaming chains that dangled from my wrists.

And now, for the first time, I spoke: "X-eggs! Surround the yellow chara and bring it to me!"

Dia had flown back over to Mai since being freed from her first abduction. Now that Mai saw the incoming threat, she took action. "Everyone, this way!" she shouted to the charas that were with her, before dashing into the temporary building standing just behind her: the house of mirrors.

This development slowed the X-eggs, since they couldn't use their full numbers to their advantage in the narrow, confusing hallways. From what I could tell from their confused cries, they were having a tough time even figuring out which Mai was the real Mai.

"Just break the mirrors and find them!" I eventually shouted, ignoring the protests of the helpless Guardians above me. I wanted to go in and do the job myself, but holding five people in the air had practically immobilized me. My command was followed by a loud cacophony of breaking glass, and in a moment the cloud of X-eggs emerged. But it wasn't Dia they had in their grasp. Instead, I could see Mai trapped within the cloud, huddled down as if to ward off the swarm that surrounded her.

"Mai!" Suzume shouted desperately as she, Miki, and Suu appeared from the wrecked house of mirrors. She flew straight for her human, only to be repulsed by the many X-eggs rotating about Mai.

I guessed what had happened. "Let go of Dia," I commanded.

Mai looked up a little, though she still kept her clasped hands securely against her chest. "I won't. It's not what you want, and I couldn't live with myself if I did. I'd never be able to write again. You know that you were the one who inspired me to write. I wanted to write about what was good in the world… But I could never again write about good if I can't be good first. So no, you're not getting Dia so long as I can help it."

To my unfeeling soul, her words simply meant that I'd have to force her to do as I said. "X-eggs, make her let go."

All the Guardians helplessly cried out against the command as they watched the X-eggs caging Mai begin to spin faster and grow tighter. But of all their cries, it was Amu's that rang out most clearly:

"Mai! Dia!"

And with that cry of desperation, her Humpty Lock began to glow, sending waves of pain radiating through me and causing the X-eggs' formation to fall into disarray. I instinctually dropped all the Guardians, but so single-minded was my duty to Easter that the first thing I did once my burden was gone was lunge into the mess of X-eggs, right to where Mai had released Dia so as to begin her very own chara-nari.

I ignored her. And as I flew just past her, I ignored the pain caused by the light enveloping her body. I grabbed Dia and finally began flying towards my ultimate destination; the X-eggs followed me, giving me a little relief by blocking me off from the light. This time, Rima was either too hurt from the fiery chains or too distracted by Mai's chara-nari to stop me with her ropes.

So this time, I actually managed to reach my goal: a large, spaceship-shaped ride, the original purpose of which was to spin carnival-goers around so fast that they couldn't move from their places on the wall. From what Yukari had told me, Easter had managed to make some 'adjustments' to it, essentially turning it into one giant version of Nikaidou's final machine. Easter's plan to duplicate the experiment that Nikaidou had attempted on Su.

But this time, it was on a much larger scale.

As I approached, Yukari stepped out from where she'd been hiding in the doorway of the ride. "Get that chara into the opening at the top of the ride, close the latch, and then get those X-eggs into the ride through this door! And hurry!" As she said this, she was quickly messing with the control panel of the ride, apparently preparing the machine for its job.

I managed to get Dia secured into the contraption, but I saw that by the time I got back down, I wouldn't be able to get the X-eggs in the ride's main entrance before the Guardians interfered. I prepared myself to attack them once again so that the X-eggs could get themselves in, but that was suddenly rendered unnecessary as a wave of X-energy shot at the Guardians from elsewhere, throwing them all backwards. It gave me the opportunity to herd the X-eggs in; and as I did this, I looked over to the X-energy's source to see that Ikuto had appeared. Some distance behind him, a white panel van sat at the back of the dazed crowd. Presumably, this was where the scientists were controlling him through the use of the tuning fork.

The machine began to rev to life as the Guardians got to their feet; but regardless of how high the stakes were, they as of yet didn't move. Both Ikuto and I were standing in their way, and they knew a reckless charge would only hurt their cause further.

However, Kairi boldly stepped forward from the group and shouted to his sister, "Yukari, this isn't right! Why are you doing this anymore? Because it's part of your job? You could get another. Is it because you still feel like you're competing against Nikaidou-sensei? He's done with this. You're fighting against no one."

Yukari paused in her preparations; though the machine was starting to run, it had not yet begun its task. She was hesitating. Now that she was so close to completing what she had worked towards for so long, her mind seemed as if it almost couldn't bear the truth of what she was doing.

Then Mai stepped up next to Kairi, and for the first time I saw her chara-nari. She was wearing a beautiful, full-length long sleeved dress, exactly the same light-blue shade of Suzume's egg. Her long hair was braided to the side of her head, so that the braid fell down her front and fully showed off the numerous small, blue feathers that were woven into it. At her side was a thin book with a royal blue cover, hanging by a cord that went through its spine and looped around her opposite shoulder. In her hand she held a massive, old-fashioned quill that was the same color as the book, though it was so iridescent that at times it seemed to shift through the entire spectrum of colors in the blink of an eye.

"Kairi is right," Mai said confidently. "You need to see the truth!" And then, before either Ikuto or I could quite react, she raised her quill and pointed it at Yukari. The Japanese character for 'truth' appeared right in front of it, and this went flying forward, hitting Yukari dead-on. It didn't throw her backwards, or anything of that sort; rather, her demeanor seemed to change rapidly, and a rueful smile appeared on her face.

She shook her head and took a deep breath as she pushed a button on the control panel. Rather than beginning the machine, I heard the hatch on the top of the ride pop open and saw Dia zoom back over to the Guardians.

"I really guess I messed up, if I need kids to point it out," Yukari said ruefully. Whatever Mai had done, it had helped Yukari to make up her mind and see how wrong her actions up until now had been.

My mind raced more than it had in weeks. I could only follow orders; what could I do when one of the people giving the orders went against her own job?

My conundrum was solved when a voice suddenly came out over the fairground's speaker system. "Miyuki, under Kazuomi's orders you are to finish what you came here to do," said the voice. I recognized it as that of the female scientist; seeing that things were going south, she must have contacted Kazuomi for orders and hacked the speaker system.

I jumped into action, flying towards Dia once again while sending another barrage of fire towards the Guardians to keep them occupied.

"Miyuki, stop!" Yukari shouted after me. Her voice didn't even register; she was no longer a representative of Easter. Her words didn't matter. "Stop, or I'll have to make you!"

She pulled out the crystal with its controller, preparing herself to press the button even though she only wanted to use it as a last resort. Ikuto apparently had his own orders, probably communicated to him through the vibrations of the tuning fork that the scientists had. As soon as Yukari pulled out the crystal, Ikuto leapt for it and ripped it out of her hand.

In the process, one of them accidentally must have hit the button. Even the momentary attack of Darkness that resulted was enough to end my chara-nari and send me crashing to the ground before I could even reach the Guardians. I stayed where I landed, only half conscious due both to the painful impact and the lasting effects of the crystal-induced Darkness. Even my forced loyalty to Easter couldn't override my current condition.

Mai wasted no time rushing to my side and kneeling down next to me. "Miyuki! Are you okay? I'll help… Or I'll try at least." She touched the point of her quill to my arm, and the character for 'sleep' appeared. I began to feel drowsy and I might've fallen asleep, if not for the Darkness that continued to torture me and the compulsion I felt to get up and do as Easter had bid me.

"Forget her for now!" Yukari said. "If you can get the crystal from Ikuto, then you can do so much more for her!"

The group looked up, but Ikuto had already disappeared and the van was pulling out of the fairgrounds and racing onto the street.

"I'll go," Amu said, looking determined. "I'm the only one who will be able to catch up to them now."

She stepped forward to jump off the ground and use her heart speeders, but Tadase caught her hand before she could take the leap. "Amu-chan, you can't. I've fought Ikuto, and you saw his attack just then. He's going to be too tough for you to take on alone. Let's see what we can do about… this." He stared down at me with a look of disgust."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Mai said, suddenly standing up and practically stomping over to Tadase. "I won't stand for it any longer! I don't care if she betrayed you. She betrayed me, too. But at least look at her! She's practically been tortured! They have something that hurts her so badly that it can jerk her out of a transformation before she even has time to land! Can't you understand that?"

"Sister, is there any way to help her? To free her from Easter's control, even if we don't have the crystal?" Kairi asked as his sister walked over and joined the group.

Yukari shook her head. "I just don't know. That crystal would've been your best bet; it's the source of all her problems. The only thing I can think to do is have Azami purified, but…"

"But what?" Mai said, her anger cooling as it was replaced with concern.

"But I don't know what it might do to her," Yukari said. "The X-energy that was transferred into her has messed with what could essentially be called her soul. In a sense, it's a part of her now. If you take out that part now, well… It's hard to say what will happen to her."

Mai turned resolutely to Amu, her transformation making her much more decisive than her usual self. "You've got to do it, Amu," she said. "No matter what happens, I know Miyuki would want the X-energy out of her. It's been hurting her too much. If we let it be, she'll stay under Easter's control and-" She stopped speaking as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and saw me starting to push myself up. After some minutes of warring, the control Easter had over me had won out against the paralyzing effects of the Darkness. Once again, I was focused on getting Dia into that machine.

I looked around for a moment or two and spied Azami lying on the ground nearby. But before I could grab her and return to my chara-nari, the Guardians finally came to their senses. Rima completely covered my body with ropes, sending me tumbling to the ground once again; and Yaya finally found a use for her duckies by having them form a little cage around Azami in case she woke up soon.

I struggled with all my strength to throw off my bonds. But as a normal human, I could do nothing.

"Do it now, Amu-chan!" Yaya said. "I want Miyuki to go back to how she always was!"

Amu looked over to Mai, and the determined expression on her face gave her courage. "All right. I'll do it. Yaya, make your ducks move so I have a clear shot."

The ducks floated out of the way, though they kept a close eye on Azami's fallen form.

Solemnly, Amu formed her hands into a heart shape and pointed them at Azami. "Negative Heart: Lock On! Open Heart!" Light burst forth from her hands and washed over Azami.

I screamed. The pain was unbearable. Always I'd known how much it hurt to feel the light from Amu's Humpty Lock hit me, even from a distance. Now that it was actually concentrated on Azami, it was a thousand times more terrible. The Darkness raged within me, as if it was expending every ounce of its energy to destroy my body rather than let it be purified. The feeling was somehow even worse than that of the crystal-induced convulsions of Darkness. It lasted only a few seconds in reality; but as with the other times I'd been forced to experience pain even close to this level, it seemed to last an eternity.

Finally, the light faded, and with it went my own consciousness. What was left of my mind and soul just couldn't hold on after that last shock. And so I sank into the nothingness that so closely mirrored what my soul had become.

* * *

Ironically enough, I'm going to a carnival/fair/whatever tonight, and it's the one I had in my head while writing this chapter. ^_^ Anyway, for a while since restarting this fic I was considering making this essentially the end of the story (with maybe another chapter of resolution), but that was never my original plan. So I decided to stick with the original plan, for the most part. Admittedly, I probably would've made this the end of book 2, and then started a book 3 for the last part of the story... But I think that last part is going to be much shorter than I originally planned it, so we're sticking to keeping this story in two parts.

Thanks for reading!


	24. Field Trip?

"Miyuki? Are you waking up?"

I slowly opened my eyes at the sound of the familiar voice, but for a moment couldn't quite put a name to the girl sitting at the side of my bed.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" the girl said happily. "You've been lying there for two days now… The Guardians and I brought you back here after that whole mess at the carnival, but you hadn't even moved since. Yukari said that something might happen to your soul when we cleansed it, so I was starting to worry that you'd never wake up. But you're okay now, right?"

I squinted at her, and finally her name came to my mind. "Mai?"

"And Suzume!" the little chara said happily as she floated forward into view. "You remember us, right? You seem a bit disoriented."

I sat up and rubbed the sand from the corners of my eyes. "I guess I remember…"

"Are you sure?" Mai said, scowling with concern. "You don't seem like you do…"

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked, a slight hint of curiosity in my voice. It didn't make sense for her to be so worried. I barely knew who she was, after all.

Mai look hurt. "Miyuki, we're best friends! How could you forget that?" Then her hurt look fled as she recanted. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't blame you. After you had all that X-energy forced out of your body, it's no wonder everything is still a little fuzzy."

Upon her mentioning that we were best friends, some memory of the fact returned. "Wait… I do sort of remember. It's coming back, at least a little. But, um… I don't really feel glad to see you at all, and I know I should. I'm just sort of… blank. I'm sorry, I suppose, except that I don't really feel apologetic, either."

"Don't worry, Mai!" Suzume said cheerfully when she saw her human's downcast expression. "She'll go back to normal eventually, I bet! She's maybe just a bit numb from the shock, is all."

"Shock?" I asked. "Shock of what? You said I had… X-energy? In my body?" And even as I said this, some vague memories entered my mind. But even these so filled with darkness and depression and pain did nothing to stir my emotions. I truly was blank, like a sheet of untouched paper. As memories came back, plain words were beginning to stain the white surface; but as of yet, no colors or illustrations had yet been able to leave their mark on the apparently dormant emotional part of me.

Mai nodded. "You don't even remember that?"

I shook my head.

"Do you want to hear the story of it? Of what all happened?"

I nodded, though 'want' perhaps wasn't quite the right word. Refilling my mind with memories simply seemed a logical thing to do. But before she could start, another vague memory surfaced, and I found myself asking, "What exactly happened to… um… Azami? Is that her name?"

Mai stood up and walked over to my bedside table, from which she grabbed a little black egg. "She went into her egg as soon as she was cleansed. But she hasn't disappeared yet, and you can obviously still see Suzume… I think it's just a matter of time before she hatches again and you're back to your old self. Well, your old self before Easter had control of you, that is. So anyway, didn't you want to hear that story?" she said with forced cheerfulness.

"Yes, I do," I said, looking blankly at the egg as I took it from Mai's hands. It seemed so familiar, and the name of Azami seemed so comforting and empowering at once. For the first time since waking up, I felt myself wanting something; and that 'something' was to know who exactly Azami had been. I couldn't even remember what she'd looked like, nonetheless how she had acted. I could only guess that she was something similar to this Suzume floating around Mai, but some part of me said that she was also much, much different than the cheery chara floating in the air.

"So where do you want me to start?" Mai asked. "Do you remember anything at all?"

I shook my head. "Other than what you've told me so far, I can't remember anything."

"Not even your childhood? Your parents?"

My brows knitted together as I tried to remember. "No. I can't remember any of it."

Mai sighed. "Well, I haven't known you for all that long, but I'll do my best based on what you've told me about yourself for the parts before I met you. Anyway, Suzume, what do you say we make this a real story? Chara-change, please?"

"I'm on it!" the little chara said. I noticed a blue pencil appear behind Mai's ear, and something inside me told me that this was relatively normal for her, even if it seemed odd to my rational mind.

Then Mai began the story, and all my attention was riveted on my supposed best friend as she began the tale of my own life.

By the time she finished, nearly two hours had passed. It probably would have taken a bit less time, but I'd soon figured out that I was ravenous, and so we had to take a break to eat. My mom made me something when I asked, and she made no inquiry about my health. I knew that this wasn't normal for a parent, and I later learned from Mai that she was still suffering from the effects of some sort of hypnotism. Hypnotism that, coincidentally, I had performed.

Whenever Mai mentioned some part of my life – the hypnotism, the Guardians, Easter – the memory of it soon came back to me, minus all the emotions that those memories should have stirred within me. Once again, my rational mind told me that this wasn't how things were supposed to be. But without any emotion, I couldn't bring myself to be concerned about it.

Even once she was done with the story and enough of my memory had come back that I was automatically filling in the missing details of my life, Mai stayed around and talked with me. I almost mechanically maintained my end of the conversation, which Mai noticed but didn't comment on. She simply seemed to find it important to keep me talking, as if somehow that would rekindle the part of me that was so blatantly missing.

When Mai finally did leave later that afternoon, I sat back in my bed, picked up Azami's egg, and stared at it. I remembered what she looked like now that Mai had described her to me, and yet the little black egg in my hands still was quite a mystery to me. She was vitally important to me, I knew that much. But as I thought about her, I couldn't grasp why exactly she was so important. I stayed there most of the evening, just looking at the egg. Eventually, exhaustion overtook me and I decided to go to sleep.

Mai came the next day… and the next day… and the next day. She always stayed for a long time, and she always struck up conversations with me over anything that came to her mind. Sometimes she started reading some passage from a story she was writing; another time, she brought a DVD of what I remembered to be one of my favorite movies and we watched it together.

And slowly but surely, after nearly a week had passed, I finally felt the beginnings of emotion returning. It was small, really. I just all of a sudden found myself feeling pleased about being with Mai, though for the life of me I couldn't tell why exactly that should make me happy. I told Mai, and it made her happier than all the time I'd been with her since first waking up to her voice.

Then, as if that little feeling had opened the floodgates, other emotions began to return as well. Sadness when I watched a movie and a character died; joy when Mai managed to get passed a case of writer's block; frustration at Azami's continued slumber. The lattermost of these brought the most sensation to me, but even then I understood that I was far from back to normal. Even after nearly three weeks, these emotions were bland compared to how intense they should have been.

Eventually, Mai brought news that reawakened yet another of my dormant emotions: anxiety.

"Hey, Miyuki, guess what?" Mai said after she'd been at my house for a little while.

"What?" I said.

"You know that school field trip that I told you I was leaving for tomorrow?"

I nodded; I hadn't liked the thought of her going away for a while. It made me worry that I'd go back to how I had been without my emotions, which didn't seem like a good thing.

"Well, the student who was supposed to be rooming with me had to back out all of a sudden!" Mai said. "And while I feel sorry for her, Nikaido – you know, he's the teacher leader for the trip – he said I could invite someone else along, since the room's already paid for. And I asked if you could come along, and he said it would be fine so long as you get your parents to sign the permission slip!"

Initially, I was happy about the news; but then another thought entered my mind. "But… The Guardians will be there, won't they? I'm not sure how to deal with them right now…"

Mai looked at me intently. "You know, even if you're getting your emotions back, you're still not quite Miyuki yet… You never would have said that before."

"Well, it's true," I mumbled as I looked down at the ground. "I just don't know what I'd say to them. I'm not even sure how I feel about them anymore. I'm not even sure how I want to feel about them. You said it yourself – I'm not the same person I was, or ever have been."

"Don't worry," Mai said. "I'm sure you'll find yourself again as soon as Azami hatches. And I think this trip will help. We're going out to a rather obscure national park not too terribly far from her. I know you've always been more of a city person, but I bet the nature will be a good change. And I even think that seeing the Guardians will help, because it'll force you to think about who you are in relation to them. Maybe it'll force Azami to wake up, too."

"…If you say so," I said doubtfully.

The rest of the day was spent packing; Mai helped me out, since I didn't really know what all I'd need to bring, considering the short notice. She also explained a bit more about the summer field trip. All students from Seiyo were welcome to attend, though many hadn't signed up due to other plans or simply because their parents didn't have the sort of money to spend on it. The trip itself was supposedly being held to allow the students to get a hands-on perspective on nature and conservation efforts, though according to Mai, everyone knew that the learning would be limited. It was essentially just a school-sponsored week long vacation.

The next morning, the bus departed from Seiyo. There were only enough people for one busload, even counting Nikaido and the other teachers heading up the field trip. Part of me was happy about the relatively small number of people; it meant less people staring when they saw me suddenly returning after nearly two months of not being a student at Seiyo.

However, the fewer number of people also meant that there was only so much space I could put between myself and the Guardians. _If only there'd been two busses… _Mai tried to get me to go to the back of the bus and talk with them to start smoothing things out, but I refused when I saw Tadase's and Rima's icy looks. I wasn't even sure if I _wanted _to be friends with them. They could both be really hateful when they wanted to be, and it seemed like they always wanted to be that way around me. True, perhaps I'd been the one to provoke them into acting like that. But that didn't make it any better a thing for them to do.

But what bothered me even more than the hateful glares was the fact that those glares were bothering me in the first place. I wasn't sure what I hated so much about it. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't like being judged by those… those…

_Simple-minded fools? Is that the phrase I'm looking for? It sounds right, but… Am I really that mean, to even think something like that about them? _I looked down to my lap, in which I had carefully cupped Azami's egg in my hands. _I wish you'd just hatch again… Even with some of my emotions back, I don't know what to think anymore. I don't even know what I want to think anymore, or how I want to act._

The bus ride took about four hours; and once we arrived, we were pretty much allowed free run of the place for the afternoon, since no activities were planned on the day of our arrival. The teachers gave us a strict set of rules to follow, and warned that anyone who broke them would be banned from the next days activities; these rules included not going near the nearby river, staying around the main lodge of the park unless we got adult supervision, and other such things.

To be honest, I didn't care about missing the activities. I just wanted to avoid the Guardians for as long as possible, and if that meant staying in my room while everyone else was off adventuring, then I didn't mind.

But when I told Mai this while we were exploring the lodge area upon our arrival, she objected. "We've got to patch things up between you guys as soon as possible! Now that you don't work for Easter anymore, there's no reason we can't all get along again. I'm sure that Kairi, Amu, and Yaya will be more than glad to start talking to you again. It's just Rima and Tadase we'll have to work on. Why don't we do it right now?"

I shook my head vehemently. "No way. This was a bad idea to begin with, Mai."

"So what, do you want to hide from the Guardians for the whole next week? And for who knows how long after that? What about when you return to Seiyo next year – what'll you do then?"

I practically flinched at the thought. "I don't know what to do! I hate hiding from them, but I seriously don't know how to act anymore. You think I'm slowly returning to normal, but I'm not so sure. I can get angry and sad and happy, but I don't know what to get angry and sad and happy about anymore. I don't even feel like I have a personality now."

"This is why I think you have to face the Guardians. As I said before, it'll force you to figure out how to act," Mai responded optimistically. "Even if you don't end up mending your relationship with them, I still think talking to them will help you. So hey, why don't you wait right here, and I'll go find the Guardians and see if they'd be at least wiling to talk to you for a bit? Be right back!"

"Mai, wait! I don't want to-" But Mai was already gone, leaving me in the center of the bridge that spanned the swiftly moving river. I sighed, and took a quick look around; since going down to the river itself was off limits, no one apparently wanted to hang around the bridge. I guessed that most people had already jumped into the pool that was in the lodge itself. Either that, or this was just of the way enough that no one had bothered to come down this way exploring yet. I could barely even see the lodge from here, though that was more due to the number of large trees blocking my view than due to the actual distance.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me, then," I said as I slipped Azami's egg out of the small pouch I'd filled with snacks and stuff for the bus ride up. I hadn't dropped it off at my room so that I'd have a good way to keep Azami's egg with me without people noticing. "So why is it that you won't hatch for me? Why is it that I can't remember how to act anymore?"

The black egg with flames in a ring around its center did nothing but sit in my hand.

I sighed again, shook my head, then put the egg in my bag again and sat the bag down on the bridge. "And now I'm talking to eggs. Maybe having no personality is making me crazy…" I climbed up onto the railing of the bridge and sat down. The railing was wide and I was able to hook my legs into its wooden supports, so I had no worries about falling backwards into the river below me.

_Whatever happened to the person I was when I had Azami around? Or even the person I was before Azami? _I wondered as I looked up at the trees growing tall around me as they swayed gently in the breeze. _I know I was happier then, when I was confident in who I was. Even when I had doubts, Azami at least had me keep a goal in mind. Now I'm not even sure if I'm aiming for that goal anymore. I wonder if-_

My thoughts were cut off as a familiar sensation came over me, one that was like pain and yet not truly painful. I recognized it as the feeling of the Kazuomi's usual punishment via use of the crystal, yet since neither the crystal nor I had an X-energy anymore, it lacked the Darkness's almost maddening effects. Instead, I momentarily felt shockingly empty, as if someone had taken my soul – or what was left of it – by the root and pulled it fully out of my body. Normally, I had mostly forgotten this part due to the ensuing pain of the X-energy as it filled the 'empty space' where I felt my soul had been; since nothing like that could happen now, the emptiness was all I could feel.

Physically, it felt as if all the air had somehow disappeared from my lungs. My head swam, and before I knew it, I felt myself falling backwards with little control of my body to do anything about it. For a moment, my legs stopped my fall, since my feet were looped around the vertical parts of the railing. But then pain shot through me and I heard a snap. In the position I had been in, there had been no way for my ankles to hold up the weight of my entire body.

Then I fell, and the icy grip of the water closed around me. The force of the impact was enough to send stars to my eyes and knock out whatever little air had been left in my body. Before I could even think about returning to the surface for air, my head hit something solid and it was all I could do to remain conscious, nonetheless make my way through the swift currents to the air somewhere above me.

* * *

So, I think I'm just gonna keep this at a biweekly update schedule. I've sort of unconsciously been doing that anyway, since my absolute max was two weeks between chapters. Just so you know.

Anyway, thanks for reading! And reviewing! ^_^


	25. Lions and Tigers and

I felt myself being swept down the river, terribly conscious of the pain in my head and ankle, though only half conscious in all other respects. The water was shockingly cold, and that was perhaps the only thing that managed to keep me awake at all, and therefore the only thing making me remember to gasp for air when I by chance breached the surface and hold my breath whenever I submerged.

I couldn't really tell how long I stayed like that, being pulled along by the current. Eventually, I felt the river slow, and my feet began to drag along the silt-covered bottom of the river. I tried to stand, but pain shot through my left ankle, causing me to stumble back under the surface. I tried swimming using only my arms and other leg, although I only had a vague idea of where the shore was; I was so exhausted and numb that I could barely even keep my head above the water for long enough to catch a breath before being pulled under again.

It took me longer than it should've, but I eventually felt my knees hit the bottom of the river. From there, I crawled until I was fully out of the water. I coughed, choking on the water that was trying to escape my lungs. Then, lacking the energy to do anything else, I collapsed to the ground and fell into a state of half-slumber.

Judging by where the sun was in the sky when I opened my eyes, it was maybe an hour or so later when I awoke again. I slowly pushed myself up off the ground, but even that was enough to bring pain to my ankle and make myself feel nauseous. I tentatively reached up to my head, and felt a painful lump somewhere near the crown of my head; I didn't doubt that I had a concussion, though what exactly that entailed I wasn't entirely sure.

_I'm awake and thinking clearly enough, despite the pain and upset stomach, _I thought to myself. _I think the concussion is the least of my problems._

I lowered my gaze to my legs, which were stretched out in the sand in front of me. And I nearly threw up at the sight of my ankle. I couldn't even see all of it thanks to the shoe and the sock that partially covered it, but it was so swollen that I hardly needed to see past them. Still, something told me that I ought to try to get the shoe and sock off, and they finally slid off after a lot of painful, cautious tugging.

Seeing all of my ankle was even worse than seeing it practically swelling over the sides of my shoe. It was almost like I had a knee where my ankle was supposed to be. A very unnatural and painful knee, that is.

"How did this even happen?" I asked aloud, for the first time thinking of something else other than the pain in my head and ankle. "I was waiting for Mai and the Guardians, and then… Oh, no. That feeling… That was Easter."

_So even after all I've been through – the cleansing, the memory loss, the lack of emotion – the crystal can still effect me? Of course, it's not as bad as it was. No X-energy. But still, it's shocking enough… Shocking enough that I couldn't keep myself from hurting my ankle and falling in the river, at least. Why now? Were they watching and waiting for just the right time to try and kill me? But why would they do that?_

I let out a sigh of frustration, then slumped slightly in resignation. "What am I going to do?" I asked myself as I let some sand slide through my fingers. I felt sort of silly talking to myself in the middle of nowhere, but I had to organize my thoughts, and speaking aloud was the best way to do that. "Who knows how far away the rest of the school group is? The river was fast, and I was in it for a long time… I could be miles away. I can't walk, I hurt all over, and… Oh, what's the point? This is hopeless."

Lacking anything better to do since even my thought process was unproductive, I slowly slid myself over to the base of a tree so that I could at the very least lean back against it. The crawl over to the tree hurt, but it was worth it to keep myself comfortable and – more importantly – unmoving. With my body stable, the pain in my ankle was reduced to a dull throb, as opposed to the frequent lancing pains of before, whenever I shifted my body.

"Maybe it's not completely hopeless," I muttered to myself. "Mai probably came back soon after I fell in. My stuff should still be at the bridge. She wouldn't think that I'd leave it there and go off for too long. And she knows I wouldn't leave Azami's egg behind. She's probably already realized that I'm gone, and she went to get some help." I sighed again. "Even so, I wish Azami was here. I feel so useless just sitting here… I practically couldn't defend myself against a mouse, if a particularly vicious one decided to attack."

I still couldn't remember much about Azami. She was the one part of my memories that remained stubbornly blank. I could remember times when I'd been with her, and I could even remember some of what she'd said. But what she really looked like, what she really acted like… I had no idea.

"Well, they always say that the best thing you can do when you're lost is stay where you are and wait to be found," I said to myself. "I guess all I can do is wait here."

I leaned my head back against the tree and tried to rest and recover the energy I'd lost during my struggle with the river. But even if I'd been in my bed at home, I doubt I could've slept due to my ankle. It felt terrible, and it was definitely overwhelming enough that any sort of rest was impossible.

After maybe ten minutes or so of trying and failing to sleep, I angrily lifted my head, grabbed a handful of sand, and flung it at the water in frustration. The constant pain was starting to get to me. But it was more than just that.

"I hate this!" I shouted, sending some birds in a nearby tree flying away in surprise. "I hate that I'm so helpless all the time! I never know how to feel, I don't know how to face up to the Guardians, I can't move from this spot – I hate it! I'm even shouting about it to no one, and I hate that, too!"

A branch snapped somewhere in the woods behind me, and I promptly twisted around to see what it was. This of course sent pain racing through my ankle, and I gasped a little in pain as tears filled my eyes.

"Just go away! I don't want to have to be rescued by anyone!" I said as I wiped the tears from my eyes, taking my anger out on what I assumed to be someone coming to help me. "I'll get back on my own!"

A loud, rumbling growl came from the trees, and I froze as I finally got a good look into the shadowy undergrowth behind me. My anger was suddenly mixed with fear as I saw a big, hulking beast lumbering out of the semi-darkness of the forest. A bear was walking straight towards me, and it didn't look too happy about being yelled at by a young, wounded human.

The fear that had come upon me was quickly washed away as a flood of anger rose within me. It was more emotion than I'd felt in weeks, and it almost felt good to let it run through me as I suddenly found myself shouting at the bear, "What? You want to eat me? Just try it! I'm not going to just lie down and let you! I'm not going to let myself die like this! I'm going to get out of this just so I can tell Rima and Tadase that even though I'm not with Easter anymore, I still hate them! I just want to go back to how I was, when I could fight for myself against whatever was hurting me! I want the power to just be myself again!"

The bear snarled and charged, apparently enraged by my shouting. Still only half-turned towards it, I stared it down as it ran, ready to hit it as hard and at least do some damage before it could kill me.

But then something changed. The anger was in me still, but confidence and strength surged with it. The bear suddenly slowed to a walk, and then stopped right in front of me, its eyes locked with mine as I stared up past the muzzle filled with teeth made for tearing flesh.

Still keeping my eyes locked with its gaze, I stood. A moment ago, the pain this caused would have been un_bear_able (excuse the pun), even though I kept most of my weight on my other leg; now, however, I somehow managed to push the blinding pain to the back of my mind. Then, not quite knowing what I was doing, I pulled my fist back and then let my punch fly, hitting it right in the nose with more force than I knew I could manage.

This broke the eye contact, and he began to growl again as he crouched, prepared to leap at me once again; but as soon as its eyes once again met mine, it whimpered and even cowered slightly.

A grin leapt to my face as I realized what was going on. _I'm chara-changed. Which means that somewhere, somehow, Azami reacted to my anger and hatched. _

Then the chara-change took over, and I found myself saying, "I'm not going to let myself be mauled by some stupid animal, even if it is a bear. _Nothing_ attacks a dragon." I leaned down close so that I was only inches away from its face; it backed up slightly to get away. Even though I was still physically a human, I was mentally an almighty, fire-breathing lord of the skies. "Now listen to me, bear. You're going to let me on your back, and you're going to take me back to where I want to be. Got it?"

The bear cowered. Some part of me – the average me – thought that this was crazy. Chara-changed or not, there was no way a bear would understand human speech. But the chara-changed me somehow had no problem expecting the idea to work, and I found myself doing one of the stupidest things of my life: climbing onto the back of an aggressive, several hundred pound animal.

I pulled on its ears until it turned its head and body so that it was parallel to the river, facing upstream. Then I kicked it in the sides, though this combined with the effort of climbing onto the bear's back in the first place had aggravated my ankle so much that even my chara-changed self was having trouble ignoring it now.

As the bear suddenly began sprinting off (with me clutching the fur at the base of its neck as tightly as I could), the chara-change finally ended. Now I was half terrified again. What if I fell off? Would the bear lunge for me? Would it still be scared enough of my dragonish self to not kill me?

But I didn't fall off, and for some reason, the bear kept running. _Perhaps it really could understand me when I was chara-changed… Or maybe it's just running out of panic that there's a human on its back. But if that's the case, it's panicking in exactly the direction I need to go. Too convenient to be coincidence. Maybe predators as fearsome as bears and dragons can make themselves understood by one another?_

"Aw, whatever," I said under my breath, through teeth clenched together in pain. "As much as it hurts, this is too awesome for me not to enjoy."

Over an hour had passed before I found that the bear was traveling down a well-worn trail by the river, noticeable enough for me to guess that we were nearing the park's hotel. I pulled back slightly on the bear's fur, willing it to slow down; it did so, shifting from his bumpy jog to a more gentle walk. His tongue was lolling from his mouth, and his spit was frothy with exhaustion – no doubt he wasn't used to carrying humans for _any_ amount of time, nonetheless running with me for well over an hour.

Tentatively, I reached out and rubbed his head, trying to show my appreciation as we drew ever nearer to the resort. He lifted his head and turned to me, and for the briefest of moments I thought I saw something vaguely puppy-like in his gaze. _Perhaps he feels grateful that a dragon spared him? True, I never could have done more than maybe bruise his nose slightly, but maybe he doesn't realize that._

I directed the bear closer to the river so that it was literally walking right along the bank. Soon, a bridge came into sight, and I spied someone sitting right in the middle of it, next to what I could only guess was the lumpy form of my bag.

I had a suspicion of who the person was; and this suspicion was confirmed when I got closer and she suddenly sat up, as if startled by something. Two small, bird-sized things suddenly zoomed from in front of her down to me, and I found my head being encircled by two charas. One, of course, was Suzume; Mai was the girl sitting glumly on the bridge.

The sight of the other made my heart soar, and made memories both good and bad gush back into my mind, finally filling in the gaps that had been present for so long.

"It took you long enough to hatch me again!" Azami said as she whipped me in the head with her tail. "But since you're coming back on such an impressive steed-" She looked down at the bear, who was currently growling at Mai, "-I guess I can't be too angry with you."

I rubbed the bear's head affectionately, then somehow managed to slide off of its back. I was sore, and my head was swimming, and even just using my injured leg to balance me was almost enough to make my ankle give way beneath me; but somehow, I managed to stay upright and conscious as I pushed the bear a little, giving it permission to leave.

As it quickly lumbered off – probably uncomfortable at being at a place so filled with the smell of humans – I half smiled, half grimaced. "I think he was gonna eat me at first. Then you somehow hatched, and I stared it down, and we're good friends now. I think I'll call him Teddy."

Before Azami could reply, I collapsed as Mai practically tackled me with a hug.

"Ouch ouch ouch! Ankle!" I shouted.

Mai quickly pushed herself off of me and looked down at my ankle. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! What happened? Where did you go! I was so worried, and I told Nikaido that you were missing, but he said you probably just went off somewhere to figure stuff out on your own, and that we shouldn't worry unless you didn't come back for dinner, and then I waited here and Azami hatched, and-"

"Slow down, Mai, and help me limp somewhere where I can get my ankle fixed. And I think I hit my head, too," I said. Mai first ran up to the bridge to grab my bag, then ran back down, crouched down next to me, put my arm around her shoulders and helped me up.

We were beginning to walk back up to the path when Azami flew in my face and said, "So I finally hatch again and this is the welcome I get? Maybe I just should've stayed in my egg."

"Sorry, Azami. I'm glad to see you back," I said sincerely. "But the surprise of it has sorta already warn off. I chara-changed over an hour ago, and so I've known you were hatched for a while."

"So really, Miyuki, what happened?" Mai asked as we slowly made our way to the more populated part of the main hotel. "I'm gone for five minutes to find the Guardians, and when we get back, you're gone and only your bags were left. Amu, Yaya, Kairi and I were all really worried."

"Easter happened," I said glumly. "Without the X-energy, it's not as bad as before… But somehow, they can still affect me with the crystal. It more surprised me than anything, but it was enough of a surprise that I fell into the river. I washed downstream, eventually met my bear friend, and then came back here."

Mai scowled slightly. "Easter? But why? What did they get out of hurting you right then?"

I shrugged slightly. "I dunno. Maybe they just wanted me to know that my break was up, and they're still after me?"

A man's voice suddenly said from behind them, "Or maybe they were annoyed that they don't know where you are."

Both Mai and I practically had heart attacks as we turned around to face Nikaido.

"When did he get here?" Suzume asked quizzically.

Azami landed on my head. "Beats me. I didn't even hear him coming. So Nikaido, what do you mean?"

As carefree as ever, Nikaido pushed his glasses up his nose a little. "Miyuki, I don't suppose you have your phone along on this field trip, do you?"

I shook my head. "Mai told me that we weren't supposed to have electronics along."

"Well, that would explain it," Nikaido replied happily. "They've been using that phone from the beginning to track you. They've probably been keeping an eye on you these last couple weeks, and when they figured out that you weren't actually at home, they decided to do something desperate in case you were trying to escape their watch. It's quite simple, really." He blinked dumbly for a moment, then said, "Yamada-san, did you perhaps hurt your ankle somehow?"

I sighed and looked down at the shoeless, sockless, swollen mess at the end of my leg. "You think so, huh?" I asked sarcastically, though without malice; Nikaido acted so oblivious most of the time that it was hard not to be amused by it. "Yeah, maybe just a little. There wouldn't happen to be any doctors here, are there?"

"Actually, there is a small medical center," Nikaido said. "Right this way."

They walked up to the main part of the hotel, and then into a small building just off the side of it. A man sitting at the front desk of the little mini doctor's office looked up, saw me, and immediately took Mai's place and half carried me back past the front desk and into a room with a hospital bed in it. I gratefully let him lay me down on the bed, and winced only slightly as he propped my foot up with pillows.

"What happened?" he asked Nikaido when he and Mai followed him into the room.

Nikaido scratched his head. "You know, I'm not really sure. I didn't bother to ask. What happened, Yamada-san?"

"Oh, um…" I hadn't thought of a good lie yet for what happened. After all, the adults would probably just say she'd been purposefully playing by the river, and there was no way they'd believe her if she told them she rode a bear back to the hotel. Thankfully, Azami and a chara-change were there to save the day. The comfortable strength of my dragon personality settled in, and I said, "I just was running through some of the trees close to the hotel, but my foot got caught on a root. I fell and hit my head, and something went really wrong with my ankle."

"It's definitely dislocated," the doctor said. "Maybe broken, too. We'll need to do an X-ray. As for your head…" he looked at her scalp and easily found the bump, then asked, "Are you feeling strange in any way? Dizzy or nauseous, for example?"

"I was nauseous earlier, but not now," I said as my chara-change went away. "And I'm a little dizzy, I suppose."

The doctor frowned. "You might have a minor concussion then, but I think you'll be fine so long as you take it easy. For now, we need to focus on your ankle. Before we do anything else, I'll need to push the joint back into position. It's going to hurt a lot, but unfortunately, I can't give you any painkillers. I need you fully aware of the pain so that we know when it's finally back in the right position." The doctor turned to Mai. "Miss, you might want to leave the room."

Mai averted her eyes down to the ground. "Um, of course." She glanced up momentarily and gave me an encouraging look, then she slid out of the room. Before she could close the door behind her, another doctor or someone came in.

The first doctor saw him and nodded. "Would you mind holding her leg? We need to get the ankle back in its correct alignment."

I gritted my teeth with anxiety. The doctor had said this would hurt. A lot. I braced myself as the second doctor grabbed my leg and the first doctor got a firm grip on the bare foot. "Now, I'll need you to tell me when it stops hurting so much," he said. "Are you ready?"

I nodded.

He started pushing on my foot, as if he was attempting to shove it up into my leg. I yelled out, unable to help myself. He'd been right; it really hurt. This was worse than when the injury had first happened, and worse than whenever I'd tried to stand up. Sweat began to roll down my forehead and gather in the middle of my back, and I continued to scream louder with every renewed effort on the doctor's part.

This lasted for a few minutes before something seemed to pop back into place and the doctor paused. "Is that better?"

The pain immediately seemed to fade. It still throbbed, but not as intense as it had been in the past few hours. "Y-yeah, I think it's back to normal," I said, slightly hoarse.

"Do you want your friend to come back in, Yamada-san?" Nikaido asked, making me realize that he'd been in the room the whole time.

"Uh, sure," I said shakily.

Nikaido as well as the doctors left the room, and soon Mai was tentatively coming back into the room. But she wasn't the only one. She was followed by Amu and Yaya, then Kairi, Rima, and Tadase. All of them looked horrified, even Rima and Tadase to an extent.

I wasn't sure how to react to their presence, but for the first time, this wasn't due to any paralysis of my emotions. I was just too tired from the minutes of intense pain to really think.

"Um, Miyuki?" Mai asked quietly. "Are you okay? We could, um, hear you out in the hallway, and-"

"I'm fine," I said, my face burning with embarrassment. They'd heard me shouting out in pain? Not just Mai, but the Guardians? That was too much to bear. How weak would they think me now?

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. No one was really sure what to say.

Eventually, though, Yaya could hold her silence no longer. She suddenly jumped forward and wrapped her arms around my neck and started bawling as she cried, "Miyuki! That sounded so scary! Don't ever ever ever get hurt like that again! It's like that night at the carnival all over again, and I hated that night!"

"Um, what night?" I asked.

Amu stepped forward. "When I purified Azami. You were in a lot of pain. It hurt all of us just watching. I'm… I'm sorry that I did that to you." Her eyes were wet with tears, as if the thought of the purification had been weighing on her ever since that night.

"Don't be sorry," I said sincerely, the words coming surprisingly naturally. I'd been think that this would be so hard, but all I needed to do was say what came to my mind. "I'm… Grateful, I suppose. It did a lot to me and I remember that it was bad… But now Azami and I are back to normal." Then, turning to Azami, I said, "We _are_ bother back to normal completely, right?"

"Well, maybe not _completely,_" Azami said. "I think I might be a little different. I think your dream changed a little, maybe."

"Like how?" I asked, wondering if this was a good or a bad thing.

Azami frowned. "I'm really not sure, and it's frustrating me. I can't put my finger on it. I just feel different."

Ran floated up to Azami, followed by all of the other charas except Kiseki. "I bet you're just happy that you're back on our side, Azami!"

"That's right, desu~!" Suu said. "And we're glad to have you back!"

"Woah, I never said that," Azami said. "A dragon doesn't need friends. But…"

Miki floated forward. "But what?"

Azami shook her head, as if ridding herself of some distasteful thought. "Just forget it. I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep." Ignoring the questioning stares of the humans and charas around her, she flew into my bag, which Mai had carried all the way here.

_That's strange… She's acting almost confused. She's never confused. But if my dream has changed, then maybe that's messing with her… I hope she'll be okay. With all the Guardians here, right now isn't exactly the time to talk about it. _

"So, um, Miyuki…" Mai began. "I know the circumstances are a little different now, but you still have a chance to talk to everyone. If now isn't the best time, we understand, but… As I've been saying, you have to face up to things sometime."

I nodded. "I know, I know. I haven't really thought about what I want to say, but…" I took a deep breath, then looked at all the Guardians. "I'm sorry for a lot of what I did, and what I've said. And I'm especially sorry for everything after Nikaido turned good. Easter was angry with me after that since I disobeyed them, and so they demonstrated the power that crystal had over me, and… Well, it was terrible. After that, I couldn't disobey them. I tried once or twice, and it nearly drove me insane."

"Boo-hoo!" Azami suddenly shouted from inside her bag. She was probably angry at me for apologizing at all, nonetheless making it into a sob story.

"Oh, shut it!" I said back. Azami didn't respond, so I continued, "Well, anyway… I'm sorry for lying to you before that. When it came down to it, I guess I did the right thing by standing up to Nikaido, but after that I didn't have a choice."

Tadase glowered at me. "But you joined Easter of your own free will, after you met us."

"Tadase-kun! She's trying to apologize," Amu defended. "Can't you at least let her-"

"But he's right," Rima interrupted, looking equally murderous.

Amu looked over to me, hoping that maybe I had a better defense for myself.

"They're right," I said, looking up and meeting Tadase's and Rima's glares. "It's part of who I am, and who Azami is. I wanted power. I still want power, in fact. And Easter did what they promised – they gave me more power than I could have imagined. But they took my freedom in exchange, and I hate them for it now. And I'm not even fully free of them now."

"But wait, Miyuki-chan!" Yaya suddenly burst out. "I thought you were supposed to be all better after that night!"

My mood fell through the floor as I really thought about the implications of what had happened today. "That's what I thought, too. It's nothing like before, of course, but today – did Mai tell you how I got hurt?"

They shook their heads.

"I fell in the river after Easter did something to the crystal. The feeling wasn't painful, exactly, but it was far from pleasant. They're not going to be able to force me to join them with that alone, but they can still hold that control over their head. If I tried to take revenge on them… Well, quite simply put, I couldn't do it. I doubt I could even maintain my chara-nari if they used it… On second thought, I doubt I'm even able to chara-nari anymore…" My mood lowered even further. No more flying? I'd been so focused on just getting Azami to hatch that I hadn't even really thought about it until now.

The door opened before I could say anything else, and Nikaido popped his head in. "Hello everyone!" he said cheerfully. "Miyuki-san, are you ready for your X-ray?"

"Could you give me just, like, one more minute?" I asked.

"Not a problem," Nikaido said. "Just try to hurry! We don't want to inconvenience the doctors, after all."

He stepped back out, and I took one last deep breath as I finally tried to figure out exactly what I wanted to say to the Guardians aside from the apology. I was confident as I went on to say, "I am who I am. I don't care if you want to be friends with me or not anymore. I could hardly blame you if you hated me. And it's probably even wise not to trust me anymore, because to be honest, I'd probably leap at any chance to get power. That's just how it is."

The Guardians and even Mai didn't seem sure of how to take this statement. Tadase continued to glower for a moment, then left the room; Rima quickly followed suit. Yaya turned all teary eyed. Amu looked like she was thinking hard to make a decision.

Kairi, however, stepped forward and, to my great surprise, actually bowed to me. Staying bent over, he said, "Yamada-san, you helped me do the right thing before it was too late and I ended up freely doing what you were eventually forced to do. You talked to me, and you let Mai warn the Guardians about me when you wouldn't even let her tell them why you were being forced to work against them. You say that you'd do anything for power, but…" He stood straight again, and a rare smile appeared on his face. "I don't believe you. I think you're a good person. I have you to thank for being able to redeem my honor as a samurai. Regardless of how you demonize yourself, I trust you."

I was struck speechless as he walked from the room.

Yaya quickly wiped the tears from her face and, followeing Kairi's lead, said, "Yaya wishes that you'd just say that you're a good guy, Yuki-chan! But I'll still be friends with you too, okay?"

"Um, sure," I said.

Then Amu took the stage. "Kairi's right. You helped save my charas from Nikaido, and you've been a good friend. I can't blindly trust you, but you're still a good person, and I'll still be your friend. That is, if you can forgive me for purifying Azami."

"I already told you that I'm grateful for it!" I responded, that being the only part of Amu's words that I felt I had an answer for.

Amu smiled, maybe sensing that I didn't know what to say to everything else. "I'm glad. And I'll come visit you later, when the doctors don't need to bother you with X-rays. So… see you later?" she asked as she opened the door.

"Um, yeah," I said, not quite happily. I had been expecting all the Guardians to reject me once I told them that I still wasn't really on their side. Instead, this had happened.

Amu left, so that Mai and I were the last humans in the room. "I guess I should get going, too," she said. "Get better soon!"

She started to leave, but before she could, there was something I needed to say to her. "Wait!" I said before she could open the door. She paused and looked at me questioningly, and I said, "Thanks for insisting on me talking to the Guardians. If it wasn't for the pressure of that coming up, I don't think Azami would've hatched. Though admittedly, having a bear charging towards me probably had something to do with it, too."

Mai smiled. "What are friends for?"

She left, and the door closed behind her. But before the doctors could come in again, I heard Azami mumble from within my bag, "Friends – really, what _are_ they for?"

* * *

All right, so the bear riding might have been _bit _over the top... But I couldn't help it. I was originally just going to have her face off with the bear, then scare it off, but that was too fun. I mean, how often do I get a chance to have a character I love (that being Miyuki) ride an actual bear? Never. So I made it happen. ^_^

Then the apology was a lot less fun... But hey, whatever. She had to get it off her conscience, I guess. It needed to be done.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	26. Sisterly Hatred

The rest of my week on the field trip was annoying, to say the least. I was stuck in my hotel-ish cabin room pretty much the entire time, propping up my leg and taking the prescribed painkillers for my cast-cocooned broken ankle; in the meantime, everyone (including Mai) went off on hikes and nature walks and whatever else it was that a group of school kids did on a week's visit to the wilderness.

Thankfully, I now had Azami to keep me company. Her harsh wit managed to keep me sane as I watched hour after hour of T.V. to keep myself occupied, and she shared my pain when Easter started making the soul-jerking crystal punishment a daily affair. Whenever I wasn't trying to deal with those shocking moments, I managed to get Azami up-to-date concerning what I'd been doing while she'd been back in her egg – that is to say, sitting at home doing pretty much nothing. And she, in turn, tried to puzzle out what exactly she felt had changed about herself. She knew there was something different about my dream (and, therefore, who she was), but she either couldn't or didn't want to recognize what it was.

When Mai and all the other school kids came back from their daytime excursions, things usually got awkward. I was glad to see Mai again, of course; but Amu, Yaya, and Kairi all seemed keen to try to force our friendships back to normalcy. Things weren't like they used to be, and I think we all knew that our friendship couldn't go back to how it once was. Nonetheless, our conversations towards the end of the week were almost enjoyable, and even the bus ride back was somehow tolerable, despite the fact that Tadase and Rima really couldn't avoid sitting somewhere near me without moving away from Amu and the others. And when the bus dropped us off at the school for all of us to either walk home or be picked up, we all parted ways on a relatively happy note.

"So, are you glad you agreed to go on the field trip?" Mai asked as soon as we started the walk to my house. Seeing as I was currently a cripple using crutches, she thought it best that she come along with me, even though my house was only a few blocks away.

I smiled in spite of myself. "Well, I guess you _could_ say it was rather productive. I got Azami back, and Amu, Yaya, and Kairi are all on speaking terms with me again… All I had to do was break my ankle, realize that Easter is still trying to mess with my life, and have a close encounter with a large, angry bear. I've had worse weeks."

Mai and Suzume both laughed and, unable to resist, I joined in. It really had been a good week. In reality, it was probably the first truly hopeful week I'd had in months. Having no X-energy just felt so _good_ that even the constantly nagging pain of my ankle couldn't make my mood dip down into anger or frustration. Everything was downhill from here, that much I knew. It was the beautiful day that came after the terrible nighttime storm – perhaps not all that extraordinary in itself, yet indescribably wonderful due simply to how horrible things had been before.

Then I reached my home and opened the front door, and every ounce of good feeling disappeared.

As soon as I looked into the dining room from the entranceway, I knew that something was different. My parents were sitting at the table, chatting amiably. This in itself wouldn't have been too weird, considering they were normal enough whenever I wasn't around causing my hypnosis to affect their conscious minds. But they were more cheerful than normal, and they seemed not at all zombified even when they did look over to see that I had returned home.

If this had been the only abnormality, I would have been ecstatic; even since Azami's purification, my parents had continued to exhibit effects of the earlier hypnotism. As much as I'd often hated them before, I hated them much more when they had absolutely no willpower whenever I was concerned. Seeing them back to normal should have been a great moment.

But then another person stepped into view. The woman – probably in her mid twenties, if I was any judge – was tall and lean, and she looked at me with a smile even sunnier than those of my parents. She looked remarkably similar to my mom as far as facial features went, but she had my dad's dark hair and eyes.

I didn't need these close resemblances to make the connection that this girl was Sara Kuroko Yamada. As soon as I set eyes on my sister, memories came flooding back to me.

Not a single one of those memories was pleasant.

I quickly turned around in the doorway, instinctually dropped my crutches, and ran. I ignored Azami's confused questions, and the pain in my ankle, and Mai's shouting at me to wait up as she picked up my abandoned crutches and dashed after me. I focused only on the act of running, knowing that if I was distracted by anything, then I'd be forced to think about the person whose very face sent fear and anger flooding through me.

I didn't stop until my injured leg gave out on me and I collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain of both a mental and physical nature. Mai, who had easily been able to keep up with my limping run, dropped the crutches and knelt down at my side, worry in her eyes.

"Miyuki! What's wrong? Who was that in there?" she asked.

"That's what I wanna know!" Azami said, floating just in front of my face as I caught my breath. "Dragons don't run from anything, unless there's a _very_ good reason for it. So you'd better start explaining!"

I just shook my head. I was still stuck in a state of terrified shock; no words could possibly form to describe every memory I'd suddenly remembered after pushing them away for years.

Mai suddenly stood up and handed me my crutches; I took them and, following her example, I raised myself into a standing position. I now felt just how bad of an idea it had been to run on a newly broken ankle, but I did my best to take deep breaths and chase away the stars that danced before my eyes.

"There's a bench just over that way," Mai said, probably seeing how much pain I was in.  
"Let's sit down, and then you can tell us what's wrong. If you're up to it."

Lacking the concern and tact that Mai had, Suzume suddenly burst out, "That was your sister, wasn't it? Oh, this is exciting! Long-lost relatives! But what's the story behind her? You are going to tell us, right?"

Mai shot her chara a rather disapproving glance as she helped me over to the bench. "Now's not the time for your obsession with stories, Suzume."

"I think now _is_ the time," Azami insisted angrily. "I want to know what the heck it is that you've been hiding from yourself and from me all this time, Miyuki! So? What's up with your sister? That is, if that's in fact who it was."

I let out a shaky breath as I finally reached the bench and gratefully sat down. Looking down at the ground, I managed to ask, "She didn't follow us, did she?"

Mai looked back towards where they'd come from. "No, it doesn't look like it. Someone else did, though." Her voice sounded amused as she said this last bit.

Before I could look up to see what she was talking about, Ginger scampered up to my feet and purred as loudly as he could, her ears drooping somewhat and giving her an almost apologetic look.

A weak smile flickered onto my face as I absentmindedly reached down and picked up the kittenish feline, happy to have something so comforting cradled against my stomach. Ginger just purred all the louder, as if glad to see her owner.

"So? You gonna tell us what's going on, or what?" Azami insisted.

I let out another sigh as I managed to relax slightly. _She's not here now… I've just got to get a hold of myself. And I have to figure out what to do… But I'm definitely going to need Azami's help. Probably Mai's, too. I need to tell them._

"She's my sister," I started, confirming Suzume's suspicions as the chara in question started writing down my words on a notepad that seemed to appear from nowhere. I ignored her scribbling and I continued, "She's my older sister. Sara. All of her friends her always called her Kuroko, but she was always Sara to me and my parents." I stopped, hesitating, unsure of how to go on.

"So if she's your sister, then why this reaction?" Mai said tentatively, not wanting to provoke me to my previous panic.

I looked back down to the ground, still mechanically petting that cat in my lap. "Because I hate her, and she terrifies me," I said hollowly.

"All right, just hurry up and get to the point, or I'm gonna chara-change you and _make _you go back and face up to her," Azami said. "What can be so bad about her that she terrifies you still, years since you last saw her?"

"She was evil… Or maybe not that, but at the very least, she was heartless and ruthless," I said, slowly getting better control of myself. "She always made sure she got her way. With most people, she could talk her way into or out of anything. No one ever thought she would lie, even when all evidence was completely against her. And if she asked for something, she always got it. She was all things to all people… Except me. I was the only one who she couldn't lie to and be believed, and so she used other means to make sure she got her way as far as I was concerned."

Mai continued to look at me, her gaze almost unbelieving. "I almost hate to ask, but… What other means are you talking about? What could she have possibly done to you?"

A slight tremor ran through my body as the worst of the memories surfaced. "There was one time when my parents weren't home and she wanted to get out of a chore. I was six… I think she was sixteen, or maybe older. She told me to go take out the trash. I already hated her by the time I was six, so I refused. When I absolutely wouldn't do it, she dragged me by the braid – I had long hair back then, you know, since _she_ wouldn't let me cut it – and she brought me to my room. She took my favorite stuffed animal, then ripped it to pieces right before my eyes as I screamed at her to stop.

"She told me that that was what happened to disobedient children, and that I'd get broken, too, if I didn't do what she said. I wasn't listening; I was still screaming and hitting her as hard as I could manage. So you know what she did? She pulled me over to my bed, grabbed my arm so tightly that I couldn't budge it from her grasp, then slammed it into the metal bedframe. Both of the bones in my arm were broken; the doctors actually had to go in and put a metal plate in to make sure the bones grew back right. No one believed me when I told them Sara was responsible." I lifted one arm and traced a thick, pale line of scarring with my other hand. "Remember, Azami? You asked me about the scar once. I thought I'd just fallen down the stairs when I was a kid, and that I'd needed surgery because of that. I was wrong.

"And Mai, do you remember? When we had that sleepover and Nadeshiko's house, I braided Nadeshiko's hair… The only reason I know how to braid was because Sara always forced me to braid it myself. It was more convenient for her to grab it that way, if I did something she didn't like. I was always doing something she didn't like."

I stopped speaking and, for a moment, no one else said a word.

Eventually, Azami was the first to speak. "This is crazy. I'd say you're lying or exaggerating things, except I know that you're not." Even she, dragon though she was, seemed surprised and stunned by the cruelty of my description of Sara. "What's up with your family, anyway? You have a manipulative, hurtful, genius older sister, and then you yourself are out of the ordinary enough to have been suspended from several different schools and to want to be a dragon. You're both nuts, in a sense – though you're a nut in a visionary dragonish sort of way, while your sister just sounds insane."

I scrunched my eyes closed as Azami's words brought new memories to my mind. "You don't understand. It's not coincidence that we're both so… messed up. I was fairly normal, and really good at school, up until a while after she left. But then we went over to the U.S. to visit her at her college and when we were alone… You know, I thought she'd be better after being away for a while, but she somehow seemed even crueler and more terrifying than before. She yanked on my hair so hard that some of it was literally pulled out of the roots, and she told me that if I wanted to ever be rid of her, I had to become stronger than her. Azami… She's the reason that you're here. You're not even my own dream. You're the dream that she planted in me. That dream to be stronger…"

This thought was even worse than all the terror. Azami was how I defined myself or, more accurately, she was the definition of the sort of being I wanted to be. _And if she's defined by how Sara chose to define her… Then who am I? Just the person that Sara made for her own entertainment?_

Even though the Darkness caused by X-energy was no longer present in my body, I began to feel myself slipping into the daze-like state of despair. Only an exceedingly painful dragon-tail's slap to my face managed to snap me out of it as Azami shouted, "What do you mean, she planted me in you! That's stupid, Miyuki, and you know it! You could've just chosen to let her dominate you your whole life! But you didn't, did you? And you could've chosen something else strong, but you didn't! You chose to be a dragon, didn't you? Then act like it! Sheesh, you'd think that I'm the only one with any sense around here!"

"You know, Azami's right!" Suzume said as she suddenly did her customary cheerful loops through the air around my head. "Your dream is your own, regardless of how it might have come into being! I mean, you're the one who helped Mai come up with me, right? But I'm still Mai's own dream!"

"Aw, shut it!" Azami said irritably. "We don't need you're annoying happiness!"

"But she _is_ right, Miyuki," Mai added, more seriously. "Azami is your own dream. Regardless of how she was formed, she's wholly yours now. It's just up to you how you live that dream now."

I relaxed more fully. Part of me was still terrified, but part of me suddenly felt silly for making this so… so… overdramatic. At the very least, I hadn't needed to start questioning Azami's existence and the nature of my dreams. As Azami, Suzume, and Mai all said, they were my own, regardless of how they originally came into being.

I smiled. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Azami said, ignoring the fact that I was addressing Mai and Suzume as much as her. "And I'm also right about the fact that you need to stand up to that bully of a big sister and show her that _you're_ the sibling in charge now, not her."

That thought sent another shiver down my spine. "You're right…" I agreed hesitantly. "But I can't face her right now. I'm tired, I can barely walk without crutches, and I'm nowhere near prepared to fight, if it comes down to that… And yet she'll be waiting back at home, I'm sure of it. She's probably been waiting for me this whole time, knowing her… She loved to torture me."

"You could stay at my house for the night," Mai immediately offered. "I'll explain things to my parents somehow, and I'm sure they won't mind."

"I'd appreciate it, to be honest," I said. "I don't want to go home tonight. Not at all."

Mai jumped to her feet, playfully grabbing Ginger in the process. "Well, we might as well get going, then!" she said, obviously trying to be overly cheerful for my sake.

I grinned a bit and used my crutches to push myself to my feet. "Yeah, might as well," I agreed.

Although it was only early evening by the time we got to Mai's house, I went to her guest room and fell asleep almost immediately, without even eating anything. I really didn't know what to think of this entire past week, and I especially didn't know how to react to today. I just wanted to sink temporarily into the bliss of oblivion, and leave the worries of the day for another time.

Unfortunately, though I was content to wait to face those worries, they were less than content to wait for me.

I woke suddenly in the middle of the night, at first thinking that Easter was hurting me through the crystal again. That was the feeling I had right when I awoke: that empty, out-of-breath, off-balance feeling of some part of me being gone. But I quickly realized that something was wrong. Something was different from the times during the past week that Easter had been trying to get my attention. The gap in my soul or whatever felt greater, like the difference between a small hole in the ground and a volcano's massive crater. And, moreover, the emptiness lasted for more than a few seconds. It felt, almost… permanent.

I panicked as I sat there in bed, wondering what was wrong this time, and wondering what I could possibly do about it.

Then an outraged voice cut through the darkness. "Oh, hey, what are you doing! Let go of me!"

Azami's sudden exclamation was the only thing that broke through my panic and made me realize that Easter wasn't who I needed to be worrying about. Perhaps earlier in the evening, I'd been able to entertain the idea of confronting my sister at some point. But now, in the dark of the night, I understood: compared to her, Easter was about as harmful as the Easter bunny.

I jerked up in bed and squinted in the darkness to see my sister standing there, Azami gripped tightly in one hand and something else dangling from a cord in her other hand.

"About time you woke up!" Azami said, turning her head to see me. "Get me out of this nutcase's hands!"

Sara smiled at Azami. In the smile, there was no cruelty, and no enjoyment at Azami's bad situation; in all honesty, it seemed even to me as if it was full of kindness in complete contrast with the situation. That was the one thing that had always scared me when Nikaidou had been evil. He'd always seemed nice and kind and clutzy, while in reality he'd always had plots forming behind those glasses of his. I realized now that my fear of Nikaidou had, in fact, been due to the latent memory of my sister, the one person who took that sugar-coated cruelty to a whole new level.

"You could just ask me, you know," Sarah said in response to chara's demand. "The name's Azami, right? Nice to meet you!" Sara let Azami go, a the dragon chara quickly flew over to me, floating at the ready, poised to attack if Sara did anything else that wasn't to Azami's liking. "I'm Sara, by the way," my older sister continued. "My friends here in Japan always called me Kuroko, but my family always calls me Sara, so you can stick with that, if you want."

"Or I could call you Miss Crazy, which is even more accurate," Azami retorted. "Now what the heck are you doing with Miyuki's necklace?"

Now I realized what it was that Sara had in her other hand, and I knew rather than understood why I suddenly felt like a part of myself was gone. I wore that necklace everywhere, all the time. I'd even had it on when I went to sleep at night. Having it suddenly gone after a couple years of having it constantly… Somehow, it didn't seem like it was just a piece of jewelry. It felt much more important.

I lurched forward, instinctively trying to grab it back from her; but the taller woman simply lifted it out of my reach. "Give it back!" I demanded, not sure why it was so important, and equally unsure of how it could possibly make me feel so empty without it. "That's mine!"

"Hmm? Miyuki-chan, did you forget that I'm the one who gave it to you in the first place? How ungrateful," she said, frowning as if she was genuinely disappointed. Or, rather, she _was_ genuinely disappointed. "I made it myself, believe it or not. I can actually do a lot of things that people wouldn't be able to believe. I suppose it's not surprising. Miyuki-chan, did you know that I've been able to see charas for as long as I can remember? But I never once had my own. I didn't ever need my own dreams. Why bother, when I could see other people's dreams and copy them for myself?"

_What's going on here? _I wondered desperately. The world that my sister came from – the perfect world of a perfect genius with cruel tendencies – that world should be completely different from the world that I knew, the world that had the Guardians in it. "What do you mean, you copied people's dreams?" I asked.

"I mean just what it sounds like I mean, silly Miyuki-chan," Sara said, her almost radiant smile once again gracing the darkness of the room. "Whenever I see a chara, I want to do what it can do. And once I want something, I have it. That's how it's always been. All I need to do is see it, and I gain the chara's ambitions and talents. Take Tsukiyomi Ikuto, for example – I saw him once when he was younger, while I was still taking advantage of the tutoring sessions at Easter. I now have the reflexes of a cat, and, more interestingly, the ability to talk to cats. Funny, huh? By the way, Ginger told me a lot about you before you got back and she realized that I was the bad guy in your eyes… I think I'm fairly caught up on how you've been while I've been away."

This was all too sudden, too strange – I had no idea how to react. Thankfully, a chara-change suddenly took over; I practically jumped out of bed towards my sister, hand outstretched to grab my necklace. It was more important than I'd ever known, that much I realized; otherwise Sara wouldn't have given it to me in the first place, then bother to take it from me now. But Sara easily sidestepped my attack. I would've fallen to the ground as the chara-change quickly faded, but was stopped as she grabbed my short hair with her free hand. Pain shot through my scalp, but somehow I managed to bite my lip and keep the shout from coming out, the shout that would've woken both Mai and her parents.

"Oh? You're not crying out in pain? You really have gotten stronger, Miyuki-chan! That's great!" Sara said. "That's why I've always loved you, little sis. Everyone else was weak. A smile and a lie – that was all I ever needed to get my way. And with everyone else, I could guess what they would do, and what their motivations were. But you could see through my smiles and lies, ever since you were little! And I never once knew exactly what you would do. I hated it at first, but eventually, I really just wanted you to be the best person you could be."

She still had me by the scalp and, using this leverage, she essentially pulled me back until I was sitting on the bed. Then, carelessly, she threw the dragon pendant to me; I caught it and frantically put it on, practically sighing with relief as its presence at the hollow of my neck made me feel whole again. But this sudden, drastic relief sent new fear flooding through me. "What did you do to my necklace?"

Sara shrugged. "Nothing too special. You're already familiar with a similar piece of jewelry – that crystal that Easter keeps you tethered with. The crystal they have was made by a young girl from France, who has a chara that gives her a knack for making… Well, jewelry of a very unique variety. Soul-affecting jewelry, you might call it. When I heard about her, I took a visit up to France just so I could gain that talent. Your necklace is what came of that. When you and Mom and Dad came to visit me in America, I gave that to you and told you that you'd regret it if you didn't always wear it. Even after you made yourself forget about me, you still apparently took that threat to heart, didn't you?"

"And what's it done?" Azami asked defensively.

"You could say that it gave your soul a physical home other than your body, Miyuki-chan, concentrating your power just like Easter's crystal does," Sara said happily. "It's what gives you so much potential. The only reason you could hold onto yourself for so long while under the pressure of so much X-energy was because there was yet another part of your soul that the X-energy couldn't effect directly. Of course, this pendant is much stronger than the one Easter has. All I need to do is take it away from you for you to feel its loss. Imagine what would happen if I stole it from you again while you slept, then sent an electric or X-energy current through it. Horrible thought, isn't it?"

If I could've, I would've avoided that thought entirely. It was terrible to imagine. "What is it you want, Sara?" I asked, knowing a threat when I heard one. And I also knew that she could and would carry out the threat, if she didn't get her way. "I'm not the seven-year-old you last knew. You can't just push me around. I won't let you."

"Oh, I should hope not!" Sara said. "That's what I've always liked about you. And it's because I've always like that about you that I just want to give you a choice. I want you on my side, Miyuki-chan. I could just take your pendant and order you around… But that'd be less than desirable for both of us. Alternately, you could just let yourself understand that I have you're best interests at heart, second only to my own interests, of course."

"What do you mean, you want me on your 'side'?" I asked. "If I'm on your side, then who is it that we're against? Why do you even need me around?"

"Oh, Miyuki-chan, you're so silly!" Sara said. "Of course, we're against anyone who gets in my way. And I don't need you around by any means; I just want you around. Really and truly. If I have to use threats to make you belong to me, then so be it. But I'd much prefer we be loving sisters in my endeavors, rather than – for lack of a better analogy – master and servant."

Growing bolder, Azami suddenly flew right up into Sara's face. "And what exactly are you even trying to do? What would someone who gets in your way be doing?"

"Aren't you just the spunkiest little chara I've ever seen, Azami-chan!" Sara said before answering, "Well, since looking back into Easter's business, I've been curious about the Embryo. I hardly need it, but it'd be fun to get a hold of. I'd love to see exactly what it is. Or maybe I could help you get it, Miyuki, and you could make your dream come true! You could finally be a real dragon, and maybe _then_ you'd believe I have your best interests at heart! But really, I suppose you both need time to think about this. I'll leave you to your thoughts." She bowed her head a little and backed out of the room before either Azami or I could object.

All my tense energy left me, and I collapsed backward so that I was once again lying on the bed. "Azami, what am I going to do?" I asked, too tired and confused to really know how to feel, or to even think about going after Sara. "Should I let her use me as a slave? Or maybe enslave myself to Easter yet again, just to get the power to fight her off? I just don't know anymore… I really just don't know."

Azami just shook her head. "You know what? For once, I'm don't really know, either. But I know we're gonna beat that witch to a pulp or go down tryin'."

Unbeknownst to either Azami or I, it was at this moment that the cat chara who had been listening through the cracked open window now flew off, surprised that Ginger's tip-off had actually yielded some very important and, in some ways, very disturbing new information.

And Ginger, who was sitting on the ground just beneath the windowsill, meowed quietly as he flew off, as if hoping that the information that Yoru now knew might somehow help the human she had unwittingly betrayed.

* * *

So, I say that I'm picking up the story again, write a few chapters, then wait over two months between last chapter and this chapter... What happened? College happened. My life got way to busy to manage this and my pokémon fanfic at once, so I unofficially dropped this until I was done with The Language of Life... Which is now finished! ^_^ So I can get back to this!

Bad news is, I just really, really want to get this over with. So, unlike two months ago, I do not now plan to stretch this fic out into a more timeline-reasonable fic. Pretty much, I'm going to get all my ideas for the rest of the story out, and be done with it... And, as it turns out, that'll probably take two more chapters. It's sorta the lesser of three evils. The first evil being that I don't finish the story at all, the second being that I drag out an ending when I don't really have any major events with which to fill up the chapters.

I apologize for any abruptness that this course of writing might bring about! But I really and truly don't want to leave Miyuki's story unfinished, and hence this plan formed... I hope you still enjoy it, regardless!

Oh, and as a final sidenote... I didn't have the idea of Sara in my head from the beginning, which is why she ended up being the clichéd long-lost sister as opposed to someone who it was established that Miyuki had always hated. So yeah... That's just one consequence of writing a fic without making an outline first... Hope it still turned out okayish.


	27. The Metamorphosis Begins

"Miyuki, where are you?" Mai's voice said frantically as soon as I answered my phone the next morning. "I woke up and you and Azami were gone! What's going on? Did something happen? Are you all right?"

A sad smile came to my face. "I'm fine, really," I said through the phone, even though I was rather less than fine. "Just out for a walk, you could say."

"Your ankle is broken! How can you be walking anywhere?" Mai asked, obviously not buying that things were so simple.

"Well, I've got my crutches, don't I?" I responded. "Anyway, I didn't want to impose on you any longer than necessary."

"I know you well enough to guess that you're hiding something, Miyuki," Mai replied. "Where are you now?"

I sighed. I hadn't really wanted to lie to Mai in the first place, yet I was ashamed to admit to what I was resorting to. "Azami and I are a couple blocks away, waiting for Easter to pick us up."

"What? Miyuki, be reasonable. Is this still about your sister? Just think about it. I don't care how intimidating she is. All you have to do is chara-change to stand up to her and practically hypnotize her. She can't do anything to you now that you've got Azami, and if she goes around hurting you again, I promise that I'll stand up for you if no one believes that she's bad. She can only do so much. If you can face down a bear after breaking your ankle, then there's no way Sara could be too much for you to handle."

"I wish it was that simple… And yesterday, I thought it was that simple," I said. "But the thing is, she can see charas, and apparently she has any chara's abilities at her command… I don't know to what extent, but she says that as soon as she sees a chara, she can do what it does. _And_ she knows about a weakness I have that even I didn't know about, something even worse that the crystal Easter has."

"What are you talking about? How do you even know all this?" Mai said. "You haven't even seen her or talked to her, have you?"

"She came to your house last night, while we were all asleep. Creepy, right? I have no idea how she possibly got in," I replied. "But apparently… Well, I don't want to say what she told me, not so long as I'm talking on this phone. Easter might hear. Anyway, I snuck back home this morning – even if my sister had been there, I don't think she would've tried anything – and I grabbed my phone, and gave Easter a call."

"But why Easter? Miyuki, really, think this through before you do something rash!" Mai pleaded. "What can they possibly do to help? Do you really think they'd protect you from your sister? They're more likely to hire her and use her to control you. Do you really want that?"

"Don't worry – Azami and I have a plan. The only reason we're doing this is because I need power to fight her off, and as a regular person, I don't have that. I can live with the X-energy again, if it means I can protect myself from my sister. She's got a threat that worries me far more than a little X-energy."

"And what could that possibly be?" Mai said.

At that moment, I saw a black car approaching from some blocks away, and I stood up from the bench I'd been waiting on. Instinct told me that the car could belong to no one except Easter. "Sorry, Mai, but I've got to go. Warn the Guardians that I'll be working for Easter again, please, and tell them I'm sorry."

"But wait, Miyu-"

I hung up, not wanting to hear Mai's pleas to get me to stop.

"You sure this is what you want to do?" Azami asked.

I nodded, and surprisingly, I smiled. "We dealt with Easter for months before you turned into an X-chara. And now that I know the worst that could happen, I'll simply insist that I won't go that far. After all, no threat they can come up with is worse than you turning into an X-chara, right?"

The black car pulled up to the curb right as Azami laughed. "Well, I suppose you're right. Besides, I can't say I'm entirely unhappy that we're getting some X-energy back – I've really missed character transforming."

"Yeah, you and me both," I said, the idea of yet again being able to fly making me surprisingly optimistic. "Really, we've been in worse situations before. And if need be, we can always have Amu purify you again… I doubt it'd be pleasant, but so long was we don't get to the point that you're an X-chara, I don't think it'll be as bad as before."

That relative optimism stuck with me throughout the drive to Easter and my elevator ride up to the room where I'd always received X-energy. And even once I entered the room and found myself facing Kazuomi, I still felt relatively content. After talking to the sister who had essentially traumatized me as a child, dealing with Kazuomi would be a piece of cake.

It was Kazuomi who spoke as soon as I crutched my way into the room. "I was so sorry to hear about your injury, Yamada-san," he began. "I hope you're not in too much pain?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, no thanks to you," I said. "Even with the X-energy gone, you can apparently still shock me enough to make me accidentally brake my ankle. But it's really nothing more than an annoying surprise, when you get down to it."

"If that's the case, then why are you even here?" Kazuomi asked. "I would've thought that you'd want nothing more to do with us, if the shocks were just minor annoyances. Are you sure there's not something else you're running from? I hear your sister's back in town…"

_He really is listening in on my phone calls, then… Either that, or he's having my house watched and someone saw me run away from her. Well, since he knows now, I guess it can't hurt to admit that she's here, and that I don't like her… He needn't know that I'm terrified of her, though. _I shrugged. "Yeah, I don't like my sister. I'd just as soon have a reason not to stay at home right now. But I'd live with it her being around if I needed to. More to the point, I miss being able to character-transform. I'll never take enough X-energy to make Azami an X-chara again, but so long as you don't mind that, I'd be more than happy to work for you again, especially if I can character-transform again."

A smirk formed on Kazuomi's face. "You're assuming that Easter would even want you back."

I forced a big smile to my face, and in a sickly sweet voice I asked, "Was that too much of an assumption?"

"No, not at all – you were indeed useful to us, and you could continue to be quite the asset," Kazuomi replied. "However, if you are going to request that we limit how much X-energy you receive, then we have another condition, as well."

My eyes narrowed. A new condition? I hadn't been expecting that. "Which is…?"

"Based on your incredible resistance to the X-energy's influence, we believe that a more direct method of energy transfer might allow you to better harness the X-energy's power," Kazuomi said. "Therefore, the scientists think it a good idea for the energy to go directly to you, rather than through Azami." He gestured to the large glass window that stood between them and the crystal in the adjacent room. "If you accept, then go on in. You need only do what Azami had been doing – touch the crystal."

I looked to Azami, who shrugged. "I don't see a problem with it. If I lived through it for all that time, I imagine that you will, too."

"Guess we've got a deal then, Kazuomi," I said as I headed towards the door to the other room. He didn't respond as I let the door close behind me, then walked towards the crystal that I never once had come into direct contact with. It was funny, really – it had caused me so much pain, but right now, it seemed so small and insignificant.

So, with that thought in mind, I held my breath and reached out to touch the energy-filled gem.

The feeling was exactly like it always had been, except much, _much_ more intense. That sudden feeling of emptiness, followed by the glorious sensation of power flooding into me, strengthening every fiber of my body was somehow amplified to crazy levels, so that at first I regretted what I was doing due to the incredible hollowness, then I reveled in the power that suddenly surged through me. I no longer doubted that this might be the wrong choice, despite the fact that I knew this would put me back into Easter's control. I'd nearly forgotten how wonderful the X-energy had been back in the beginning, when it was well within my willpower to manage.

So when the power transfer was complete, I walked (or rather, crutched) out confidently, only temporarily considering grabbing the crystal before walking out. As tempting as it was, I wasn't stupid; I had no doubt that Easter had precautions in place to keep me from leaving with it, therefore freeing me completely from them. So long as I still had my sister to worry about, I didn't want Easter unnecessarily angry at me; and so for the moment, I didn't even try.

"So, what is it that you need me to do, now that we're back in business again?" I asked nonchalantly. I absentmindedly propped my injured leg against the floor and found that, surprisingly, much of the pain was gone; it felt almost well enough that I might be able to limp on it, if it wasn't so encumbered by the cast. _I'll have to try to walk later… It seems almost healed. Man, it's amazing what X-energy can do._

Kazuomi smiled, apparently satisfied by my relative civility. "We'll be needing to replicate the large amount of X-eggs we gathered for your final mission. Some of the readings we detected at that time were… intriguing, and we'd very much like a better analysis. Tonight, once it's dark, I expect you to collect as many X-eggs as possible. And until then, I kindly request that you stay here under our supervision. Wouldn't want you running off, now, would we?"

I smiled; staying here was the best thing that could possibly happen to me. As manipulative and powerful as I knew my sister to be, I doubted she could make it to my room here, in a heavily-guarded corporation. "Sounds good to me," I said. "If that's all, then, I think I'll head off to my room and rest up for tonight. It's been a pleasure working with you, as always." I said this last bit with a voice laden with sarcasm, but Kazuomi didn't seem to mind. For once, it seemed like maybe we were both getting our way.

Once back in my room – the room that I had become so familiar with during that terrible time period of de facto slavery to Easter – I tested my leg and found that it did indeed feel a lot better. It was far from normal, but it was easy for me to gingerly limp around the room without my crutches.

Throughout the rest of the day, I longed for the chance to spread the wings of my chara-nari, now that I once again had the X-energy to power it. But since that wasn't really an option, I contented myself with napping off and on throughout the day, attempting to catch up on sleep after the craziness of last night. A few times, Mai tried to call me, but I didn't bother answering. I really didn't doubt that Easter would be monitoring my calls, and there was nothing I could really say to her that wouldn't either anger Easter or alert them to the true essence of my necklace.

But even with all my napping taking up much of the day, I must admit that I was antsy to get into the sky by the time night finally rolled around and I received the order to head out. Azami and I headed out to the roof, and for a few moments simply drank in the beautiful summer night we would be enjoying.

Eventually, though, I looked over to Azami. "You ready?"

Azami grinned. "Of course. Let's fly!"

As always, I pulled Azami into myself, letting her whole being flood into me, overcoming the weak, ground-bound human that I was usually confined to. My wings and tail sprouted; my nails lengthened and sharpened; my clothing changed, and my eyes changed to red. It was all so beautifully familiar, and somehow, it also felt so much better, so much stronger than it ever had been before.

"If this is what it means to have direct access to the X-energy, then I don't know why Easter hesitated to use it before. This feels great, like-" I suddenly cut off as I caught a glimpse of my hands. Apparently, the improved power wasn't the only thing that the direct X-energy had changed: my hands, wrists, and some of my forearm was now covered with thin, armor-like black scales.

The sight shocked me at first, and then a frown came to my face as worry settled in my mind. "That's… odd," I said, partly to myself and partly to Azami. "I'm really not sure what to think of it. And look – my feet have them, too." The cast had disappeared with the chara-nari, and so my view of my now scale-encrusted feet and lower legs was unobstructed. Beneath the scales, I could still feel the dull ache of my broken bone.

"Well, it doesn't hurt or anything, does it? The scales, I mean." Azami asked from within me.

"If anything, it makes me feel more protected," I said, experimentally trying to dig into my right hand using the claw-like nails of my left. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the sharp points were unable to dig through the tough scale.

"Then I don't see why you're making a fuss about it!" Azami said. "Come on! The sky is waiting for us!"

I quickly shook the matter of the scales from my mind and launched myself from the rooftop, letting myself once again fall in love with the sensation of air beneath my wings. It was so marvelous that, for a moment, I wondered why I'd ever hesitated to return to Easter. Of course, there was the whole issue of my freedom… But what was freedom compared to this feeling? What was worse – being ordered to fly around, or being free but stuck on the ground? I easily decided on the latter choice, though of course this could only hold true so long as Easter kept their promise of not trying to force too much X-energy into me.

Once I started collecting X-eggs, I quickly realized that, though I was not quite so powerful as I had been when swamped with many times the amount of X-energy I had now, I nonetheless was yet again a force to be reckoned with. I soon found dozens of tainted dreams following me, called forth by the wisps of smoke that I draped over as much of the unsuspecting city as I could manage. In truth, I really did feel like I had more control over the X-energy that fuelled my smoke. It was almost like the overwhelming power that I remembered had been replaced with a more precise variety of power.

But despite all my rediscovered power, my evening was far from smooth flying. This was my own fault; I flew into the area around Seiyo on purpose, hoping to draw out Mai and the other Guardians. As it turned out, they were expecting me. As I flew nearer to Seiyo, I could see them all in their chara-naris waiting in the front lawn of the building, looking up with a mix of anger and sadness in their eyes.

As soon as I saw them, I didn't hesitate to land. I had about fifty X-eggs with me by then, and I didn't doubt that with that many X-eggs under my control, I'd be able to make a getaway once I needed to. But for now, I just wanted to talk.

"Oh, hey," I said as I alighted somewhat near them, smiling slightly. But this smile was tinged with a bit of shame. Just yesterday, they'd probably all suspected that I'd try to avoid Easter as much as possible; now, I was fully embracing the company once again. "Glad to see you all waiting for me. Mai, did you guess I'd come around here?"

She nodded. "You said you couldn't tell me over the phone what really was going on," she said. "I hoped you'd come by here tonight, if you could."

"And I can see that you guessed what Easter would be putting me to work doing… Don't suppose you all will be nice and let me and the X-eggs leave in peace, will you?"

Tadase answered angrily, "Of course not! As soon as Mai told us you'd gone back to Easter, we knew we'd have to stop you, just like before!"

"Miyuki, why?" Amu asked, stepping forward. "Mai said it had something to do with your sister… Can things really be so bad that you'd willingly go back to Easter, even after all they did to you?"

The weak smile faded from my face. "Sadly, yes. But I'm not worried about going back to Easter this time – I'm sure you all will do the right thing and purify me and Azami, should I go too far."

"But what exactly is it that's wrong?" Mai insisted, probably noticing that I was skirting around this most important. "How is your sister threatening you that has you so scared?"

I suddenly noticed that Rima and Tadase were slowly creeping out towards either side of me as I talked, probably hoping to get the jump on me as soon as the most opportune moment presented itself. I ignored them and, deciding to answer Mai's question, I fingered the dragon pendant that hung at my neck even while character transformed. "You see this?" I asked. "Apparently, it's exactly the same thing as what Easter has to control me. Only much more powerful, due to the fact that I've unwittingly been wearing it for a couple years now, allowing it to become more attached to me. My sister wants to use that against me, for some reason… Probably just because she likes torturing me. My sister is stronger than my regular self, and apparently, she has an essentially infinite array of talents – she can copy the abilities that charas have, she says. I needed power to defend myself. I knew Easter could give me that."

"But Miyuki-chan, we could've helped you, too!" Yaya said.

"By doing what?" I retorted, feeling slightly defensive. "Against a real, human threat, you guys wouldn't know what to do with yourselves. You can purify X-eggs, but what do you do with a human who has free will enough to continue their actions, even if you defeat them? You wouldn't kill them, nor would you have any way to prevent them from resuming their activities. At least Easter provides me some protection."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" A new, unexpected voice suddenly said, causing me to turn around and face the new threat that had appeared behind me. Seeing the alertness that suddenly filled me, the Guardians all tensed as my sister came strolling through the darkness towards me.

A day ago, I had been filled with terror upon seeing my sister; now, I watched her calmly as she continued, "Easter can only do so much to help you. I assure you, I'll soon enough have a way to take their crystal from them. Maybe I'll give it to you as a present, Miyuki-chan? No hard feelings about the past? Of course, I'm still rather disappointed that you'd choose Easter over siding with me… a pity, really. But I won't hold it against you, for now. You'll come over to my side eventually."

"Miyuki, is this your sister?" Amu asked tentatively. I ignored her, too focused on Sara to pay any attention to any of the Guardians.

"I'm not planning on ever doing anything you want, whether or not you get my crystal back for me," I said. "More than anything else, I'd just as soon be rid of you!" I leapt forward as I spoke, claws outstretched and coated in flame. My sister smiled as I approached, apparently unconcerned with the murderous gaze in my eyes.

At the last moment, I found myself hitting the bright golden barrier that came from Tadase's scepter; apparently, he'd moved far enough around me during the conversation that he had been able to position himself in between me and my sister. I quickly recovered and, as the shield faded, I prepared myself to attack again.

"Miyuki, what are you doing?" Amu called out, using her Amulet Heart chara-nari to join Tadase in cutting me off from my target. "She's just a human – what do you want to do? Kill her?"

"Oh, I do hope that's what she wants to do," Sara said with an amused giggle. "That makes things much more fun, even if she doesn't have a chance at accomplishing that particular goal. Let's see how good your skills are, Miyuki-chan!"

Faster than my eyes could quite follow, Sara was suddenly shooting towards me, running faster than I'd seen even Kairi go. I just barely managed to throw my hands up in time to block the hand that reached for the pendant at my neck. Another second slower, and I had no doubt that she would've had the chance to rip it from my neck, essentially gaining total leverage over me.

I tried to counter-attack by suddenly pivoting, whipping my tail around in what would've been a devastating blow; but my sister nimbly leapt back just out of reach.

"I do believe those hands are new," Sara said as she stood there, smiling at me. "What experiments is Easter trying on you now? Are you sure you're better off with them than with me?"

"I'm certain," I said as I once again covered my hands in flames and threw the fires towards my sister. She jumped back further, out of my immediate range.

All the Guardians had been struck dumb by my sister's surprising ability for battle against me in my chara-nari; after all, all of them together had often enough had a tough time dealing with me. And as far as they could tell, Sara was just a chara-less human.

Now that my sister was farther away, I took my chance and jumped into the sky, flapping hard to quickly gain altitude and hopefully put some major distance between myself and the threat below. As skilled as she probably was, I doubted that my sister would be able to fly. The X-eggs followed me faithfully, drawn instinctually to the X-energy I channeled.

"Okay, Azami, we're leaving while we've got a chance," I said. "I'd just as soon not have to guard the X-eggs from the Guardians while Sara is around and trying to get my necklace."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Azami said. "Though I am kinda disappointed…"

I grinned. "Don't worry. Next time, when the Guardians aren't around, we'll show Sara exactly who she's dealing with."

My flight away meant that Amu was the only one who could now deal with me; she flew up above me using her Amulet Heart's rollerblades, obviously intent on grounding me so that the rest of the Guardians could lend her a hand in subduing me and purifying all these eggs.

"Eve, stop!" Amu said. "Really, we'll help as best you can! But you can't keep on doing this to people's dreams!"

I sped up my flying. "Sorry, Amu. Really I am," I shouted back sincerely as I let fire cover my scaled hands. "But Easter will be angry with me if I don't bring back my quota of eggs. Unless you can figure out what to do about my sister or the crystal around my neck, then I've gotta keep up my X-egg hunting. In other words, I can't play any more tonight! Maybe some other time!"

I threw a large, heavy cloud of smoke behind me, then followed it up with a barrage of small, relatively weak fireballs; one apparently hit its mark, for I heard Amu cry out in pain and surprise from somewhere within the cloud.

I continued to fly speedily away as Azami said from within me, "You sure you okay doing that? You would've been good just blinding her in the smoke cloud, you know."

Part of me realized this, and guilt started to gnaw at my heart. "Since when did you start caring about what I did or didn't do to my friends?" I asked as a way of shifting the attention away from my actions.

I felt Azami give a mental shrug from within me. "I dunno. Maybe since I hatched again? I still don't particularly care about them, but for some reason… I don't know. I guess it seems like overkill."

"So what? Are you saying that you're suddenly okay with me having friends?" I retorted, still feeling defensive. "If so, you might've figured it out sooner, before I chose Easter over them for protection."

"Yeah, that is what I'm suddenly saying," Azami said, though she almost sounded mystified at herself at the sudden realization. "I'm still not approving of having friends – a dragon is still better off alone. But I guess I don't really disapprove, either."

I shook my head as I noticed that I was instinctually flying back to Easter with my crop of X-eggs. "Azami, you're going soft on me right when I need to be as ruthless as possible."

"Hey! I'm not going soft!" Azami answered back, finally getting angry. "Trust me; I'll still be just as vicious as I need to be when it comes to your sister and Easter."

I touched back down on Easter's roof, ordering the X-eggs into the waiting crate before sealing them shut in the specially made container. "Well, I suppose you being vicious when I most need it is all that matters," I said. "Anyway, what do you say we call it a night? I wasn't exactly planning on having to fight with my sister tonight… Sorta takes the fun out of flying around in the dark when she might be anywhere, you know?"

The chara-nari disappeared and Azami suddenly reappeared. "Sure, sure. We've done enough for tonight, anyway."

Grateful that Azami wasn't going to push me any farther tonight, I headed to the door that would take me back to the inside of the building, limping once again now that my cast and much of my ankle's pain had reappeared.

But as I reached out to open the door, I froze. My hands, wrists, and forearm weren't covered in the normal human skin I was used to. My nails were still just as long, sharp, and dangerous as they had been in my chara-nari, and scales still completely covered the human skin beneath.

My heart plummeted and I felt the negative effects of the X-energy begin to seep into my heart, taking shape as seeds of fear and confusion. _My hands… and… _I looked down to my feet and saw scales coating my free ankle and part of the calf, too. _And my feet, too. Why aren't they going back to normal? _

While still in my chara-nari, the scales had felt natural; now, they seemed to weigh me down with their utter wrongness. A feeling of claustrophobia set in; I suddenly felt as if the scales were slowly creeping up my body, planning on covering me up entirely and engulfing me in the X-energy that they undoubtedly had their origins in.

"Miyuki! Miyuki, snap out of it!" Azami said as she saw me panicking. "This is weird, but they're just scales, right? You were fine with them before!"

Azami's voice brought me to my senses, and I forced myself to calm down, though much of my alarm still remained.

"Azami, this doesn't feel right!" I said, suddenly scratching at my scales, causing a harsh scraping sound to ring through the air. One of my nail caught on one of the scales, and the oblong black disc tore away from the skin in a strangely satisfying moment of intense pain. I scratched more frantically, hoping to tear away more of the scales despite the blood that now trickled down from were the first one had torn away.

"Miyuki, stop it!" Azami said, flying down and physically grabbing my hand, getting in its way enough to stop it from dislodging any more scales. "You'll hurt yourself if you keep that up! If they really feel that wrong, then we'll figure out some way to get rid of them. Got it? If you keep this up, you'll be distracted by the pain and you'll make yourself a better target for your sister. Don't be an idiot!"

That thought made me forget about the scales somewhat as the reality of that possibility hit me. I couldn't afford to be worrying about the scales now – not when my sister could, in theory, be anywhere.

"All right, I'll stop," I said, forcing my arms back down to my sides as soon as I opened the door; it was difficult, since some part of me instinctually longed to claw away the abnormality. "But Azami… I've got a bad feeling about this. It's like the X-energy isn't contained to just the inside of me anymore. Now it's consuming me from the outside, as well." I took a breath, trying to chase away the Darkness that once again had a home within me. "Just when I think things won't get any worse…"

* * *

The last chapter will be out in a day or two! ^_^ I hope you're looking forward to it!

...I don't really have much else to say as of now... Anyway, thanks for reading!


	28. A Dragon's Dream

Over the course of the next two weeks, I felt constantly like I was standing at the edge of a cliff, at once both exhilarated at the sight and frightened of what would happen when I inevitably fell. The exhilaration came from my nightly flights with Azami, enjoying the power I felt over the people who gave up their dreams to me. as well reveling in the simple freedom of flight. Though it had in the past become repetitive, I'd always liked this job. I never really felt guilty about it, and that was the only thing that could have possibly made it truly bad.

The frightening part of those weeks, however, was the constant, Darkness-like worry that lingered in my heart, and the ever-increasing feeling of becoming entrapped by the scales. They never faded after that first chara-nari. Moreover, Easter soon became unsatisfied by the pace of my X-egg harvesting, and they soon insisted that I receive more X-energy to boost my numbers. Despite the fact that I was, for some reason, very afraid of the scales, Easter made it clear that I should agree to take more X-energy… or else. I decided that, so long as Azami and I still weren't close to being overcome, then it would be best to go along with Easter's wishes, for a time.

But after receiving that next amount of X-energy (a rather larger amount than Easter had represented it to be, much to my resentment), I found that my reluctance to accept the X-energy in the first place had not been unfounded. When I next character transformed, the scales grew until most of my legs and all of my arms had been covered. Even more worrying, they had grown up onto my shoulders as well and partly onto my neck, making me constantly feel like the X-energy would wrap around my neck at any moment and choke the life from me.

So long as I was character-transformed, the scales didn't bother me; they felt natural, like an extension of my dragon persona. But at all other times, they were like a slow torture that I couldn't not think about, no matter how much Azami tried to distract me.

_At least I don't have to go out in public like this… _I thought to myself soon after the expansion of the scales._ At least the Guardians won't see._

The second part of that thought wasn't entirely true. Though it was impossible for them to predict where I would hunt at night, they nonetheless always tried to find me so that they could purify the X-eggs I was collecting. They did manage to find me a couple times, but I always flew in another direction as soon as Azami sensed them. Amu would always try to chase me down to the ground where all of them would be able to deal with me; but thanks to the large amount of X-eggs more than willing to help in my escape, she normally couldn't manage to do much to pin me down. I sometimes lost a few eggs to Amu's frantic cleansing, but it was never enough to put any noticeable dent in my collection for the night.

And thanks to the dark that I hunted in, Amu never caught sight of how far my scales had progressed. And for that, I was unbelievably relieved. For some reason, the X-energy that made me feel trapped by the scales also made me unbearably ashamed of them, which was a feeling I was having trouble getting used to.

The only good news during those two weeks was that I saw neither hide nor hair of my sister. Which, admittedly, was enough good news to keep a part of me optimistic, even as another part of me withered under the influence of the X-energy.

But what good feeling I had left dissipated when those two weeks were over and Easter demanded yet another transfusion of X-energy.

"No!" I insisted to Kazuomi as soon as he brought it up. "Not again – I won't take any more of the X-energy. Remember the deal? I'd only take some X-energy. Do you even see what it's already doing to me?" I reached up a brushed a scaled finger against the scales that were encroaching on my neck.

"And we expected you to be willing to take more X-energy than this as part of the deal," Kazuomi replied coldly. "You're not even to a fourth of the amount of X-energy you possessed by the time of that unfortunate moment of Azami becoming an X-egg. Yet you're already at over half the power. And you haven't had any moments where the X-energy has overcome your will, yet, have you?"

I scowled. This was true; the Darkness, though present, seemed more under my control than it ever had been while I'd been receiving X-energy through Azami. "Maybe I have. Do you think I'd tell you if I was?"

"You're being closely monitored, you know. As of yet, you've shown no signs of it," Kazuomi said, his gaze absolutely icy. "I won't tolerate being lied to. It seems as if the scales are nothing more than an irritation, and though I'll honor our deal, Easter will not tolerate you avoiding the possibility of greater productivity due to a minor annoyance."

"Minor annoyance?" Azami said, speaking up. "She's covered in scales, idiot. That's more than a minor annoyance."

Kazuomi's eyes narrowed. "If this boost proves to be too much for you to handle, Easter will personally drive you to your precious Guardians and have you purified. I highly doubt that Hinamori girl would refuse to do it."

"Yeah right," I said. "Just like you fixed things all up when you purposefully turned Azami into an X-chara, right? Yeah, that was real kind of you. Remind me to write you a thank-you card sometime."

"We want to speed up this operation, and you _will_ cooperate," Kazuomi said. "If all goes well, we have reason to believe that we will no longer have need of your services. If the operation is a success, I promise you that I will personally hand you the crystal that keeps you indentured to Easter, and you'll be able to leave with both your freedom _and_ your power. And the sooner we finish this operation, the sooner that can happen."

I perked up at this idea. To be honest, having my freedom _and _keeping my power seemed too good of a deal to refuse. Plus, I didn't think that Kazuomi was lying. Tricky and manipulative though he was, it seemed like he normally stuck to his word. And besides, a quick look to Azami told me that she believed him, and she was good at picking out lies from truth.

"All right, fine. I'll deal with more X-energy," I relented. "But if you're lying about this and I get stuck covered in scales for nothing, then you'd better watch out."

A satisfied grin sprouted on Kazuomi's face. "I'll keep that in mind, though I promise that your threat is an unnecessary one."

So I took the X-energy without complaint, though I'll admit that I was extremely annoyed as soon as the transfer was over. Judging by the amount of X-energy that had just flooded into me, Easter had known that I'd be more than reluctant to accept any more X-energy, and they'd packed as much as they could into this single energy boost.

Regardless of the amount, the Darkness somehow still felt under control, though my now obsessive irritation with my scales now reached almost insanity-inducing proportions. It was almost like that feeling you get when you walk through a spider web and you just _know_ that there's a spider on you somewhere, crawling on you, and you can't stop patting yourself down and obsessively brushing yourself off because you're terrified of the spider being somewhere on you.

I'd never really had trouble with spiders, but this – this was a billion times worse than I imagined any spider webs could ever be. Because it was more like a hundred spiders were there on my body, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get them off. And they never went away – I couldn't just take a shower or something and wash away the feeling, like you could with spider webs.

I didn't dare even think about what would happen when I transformed that night. Not until I was already on the roof of Easter, just about ready to character-nari

"Well, I guess there's no helping it," I eventually said as I stood at the edge of the roof, breaking the silence between Azami and I. "But I'm going to look and feel like a monster… I just know it. Let's just get it over with."

My guess wasn't far off. Though the hatred and fear of my scales disappeared once I was transformed, I finally saw just how bad things would be. I could feel scales essentially covering my back, stomach, and chest now; my neck became completely enclosed, and the scales stretched up from it to even cover some of my face. My forehead and my jawline were encased, and a smattering of scales covered my cheeks. Even in my scalp, I felt scales growing among the hair, though at least these scattered scales were mostly covered up by my hair.

I sighed. "My life's going to be hell as soon as we end the character transformation. Let's make it a long night."

"Sounds good to me," Azami said. "Besides, I think I've got an idea. Who says you have to stay not character-transformed when you're not working? I bet we can convince Kazuomi to let us have free reign during the short part of the daytime when we're not asleep. So long as we fly too high for regular people to see, then he can hardly object to us trying to keep ourselves sane."

This idea gave me some hope. I didn't exactly think that convincing Kazuomi would be as easy as Azami made it sound, but nor was it far from impossible. And when we did essentially force him to talk meet us the next day to talk about it, he eventually agreed, with one condition – I kept an earpiece communicator/tracking device with me at all times, and I always answered immediately when they used the communicator to make sure I really was where the device was. If I didn't abide by those rules and tried to run off somehow, then Kazuomi assured me that punishment would be soon to follow. Up until now kept Kazuomi from getting angry enough at me to use the crystal for punishment, I wanted to keep things that way.

And so the next couple weeks of my life passed, me somehow avoiding the brunt of the unpleasantness of the scales by retreating into long periods of chara-nari, which I was capable of maintaining for so long thanks to the direct control I had over my X-energy. It was a double-edged sword in many respects, having both its advantages (those long flights, for example) and its disadvantages (namely, the scales when I wasn't transformed). But somehow, I managed to live with it.

Sometimes, when it got to be too much, I called Mai just so that I would have someone other than Azami to talk to. I didn't dare tell her what was happening to me; I stuck to the story that Easter was just having me collect more and more X-eggs, and that nothing was out of the ordinary besides that. Even over the phone, I don't think she bought my lie. But regardless of whether she believed me or not, my brief conversations with her kept me somewhat sane… At the very least, as sane as someone like me could be. Which wasn't saying much.

Then, finally, after another couple of weeks had passed, Easter was ready to begin the plan that, if Kazuomi's hopes were right, was going to be the last thing that they needed me around for.

"So, are you going to tell me what the heck I'm going to have to do?" I said as I arrived at Kazuomi's office that evening, having already been told that tonight was the night. As per my orders, I had my communicator on my ear, probably so that Easter could command my every move when whatever was about to happen actually started.

Kazuomi smiled, though there was an anxious anticipation in his demeanor that contradicted his usual calm and serious attitude. "Gladly, Yamada-san. Tonight, you will be helping us lure out the Embryo. And if everything goes according to plan, then neither of us will have to see each other again after tonight."

My expectations for this evening dropped, filling me with disappointment. _The Embryo? Really? Do we even have proof that it exists? _"I don't mean to burst your bubble, but how can you know that it'll come? Nikaido and Yukari both thought that they were going to get it in the past, and in both cases it never came."

"That's where you're wrong," Kazuomi said, his grin widening considerably. "Nikaido might have failed, but Yukari didn't."

"Wait, what?" I said. "Well, don't get me wrong, I don't remember any of it, since I wasn't exactly myself at the time. But the Guardians convinced Yukari to stop the machine before anything actually happened, didn't they?"

"They did indeed. In that sense, Yukari failed us. However, after I had already ordered The scientists and Ikuto to leave the scene and after Azami had been purified, the rest of the X-eggs were cleansed. If you'll recall – or, I suppose, you actually won't recall – anyway, the number of X-eggs was massive. Similar to the amount that we now have stored up after your work this past month or so. And somehow, when they were purified, the sudden cleansing of so many X-eggs drew out the Embryo. Even though none of our scientists were there at the time, many of their instruments were still at the fairgrounds; and later, we managed to catch a glimpse of it on the fairground's cameras. It flew off quickly enough that the Guardians didn't see it, due to how focused they were on your coma-like state."

"Wait, wait just a minute. Do you mean to say that I've gone to all the trouble of collecting these X-eggs, and now you're going to have them purified?" I asked, feeling perhaps a bit more annoyed than I really had a right to. After all, if the cleansing of the X-eggs got the Embryo to come out and Easter got what they wanted by getting the Embryo, then I'd be home free.

"Do you have a problem with that, Yamada-san?"

I shook my head and grumbled, "No, I guess not."

"Good," Kazuomi replied. "In that case, here are your orders. The X-eggs are waiting in crates up on the roof. You are to take them over to Seiyo and wait for the Guardians – primarily Amu – to get there. Then, say or do whatever you must to get them to purify the eggs. If you think that they'll think it's a trap, then put up a fight to throw off their suspicions; if you think that they'll trust you enough, simply ask them to purify the eggs. Under no circumstances are you to tell them the true purpose of the cleansing.

"Once the eggs are cleansed and the Embryo appears, you are to do everything in your power to hold off the Guardians while Ikuto grabs the egg. Understood?"

"Ikuto? Is he still around?" I asked. I hadn't seen him around since I'd rejoined Easter; I'd assumed that maybe he'd been let go from his duties or something. Maybe the X-energy had been too much for him to handle, after all.

"Yes, he is," Kazuomi said tersely, not bothering to explain any more than that. "Also, please keep in mind what your job is. If you are somehow the one that happens to catch the Embryo, we fear that the X-energy in your own body might react badly with it, in much the same way that your X-energy and Amu's power don't mix well. Since we don't know the true nature of the Embryo, it's hard to say exactly what will happen, though we have no doubt that it will be worse than the temporary return of your chara to her egg following your first cleansing."

"You know, I'm right here! Don't talk about me like an object!" Azami said, though she for the most part kept out of the conversations between me and Kazuomi. "Anyway, I bet you're just saying all that so Miyuki and I can't take the Embryo for ourselves."

Kazuomi scowled. "No, I'm not. Regardless, if you make any attempt to do anything against my orders, you will be punished there and then, before you cause too much trouble. I don't imagine you'd want that, would you?"

"Fine, fine, I get it," I said. "I wasn't planning on going after your stupid Embryo anyway. So, is that all? Can I go now?"

"Yes, you may go," Kazuomi said, apparently satisfied. "The X-eggs are on the roof. Contact the Guardians however you see fit. But just remember – we'll be listening to you and giving orders through that communicator. Don't try anything that we wouldn't like."

I rolled my eyes as I opened the door to leave. "Yeah, yeah. Got it."

Despite my outward nonchalance, I was inwardly quite excited. This might be it. The last thing that I'd have to do for Easter. Ever. And I wouldn't have to even do too much – just hold off Amu and the others. It wouldn't necessarily be an easy task, but I could manage, I was sure.

Of course, this encounter would mean that they'd have to see me as I had become… That thought sent waves of self-loathing through me. With the scales no longer confined to just my hands and my feet, I probably looked less like a dragon and more like a monster. I hated the thought of showing myself to them, but I knew there was no choice.

"But what will we do after all this is over?" I asked Azami as we character-transformed and took off, the massive hoard of X-eggs flying after us in the dark, cloudy night. "Have Amu purify us, so that I don't constantly feel like I'm being choked by these scales? But then we lose our power, which was the reason we came back to Easter. Even with my ankle practically healed-" which it was, thanks to the power of the X-energy, "-I can't fight off my sister without some sort of advantage."

"We'll do whatever we have to do," Azami said. "We could have Amu purify us, then ask Easter to give us one small boost of X-energy, as a favor. That way, we could have the advantage of chara-nari without the downside of excess X-energy. And if Easter refuses, then we'll figure out a way to put X-energy into the crystal ourselves, and then we'll access it once we have Amu purify us. I bet Nikaido would tell us how to do it."

"Maybe…" I said doubtfully. Now that he was fully good, Nikaido didn't seem like the kind of person who would just tolerate me using X-eggs to my own ends. "But I guess you're right. We'll figure it out afterwards."

"So you're not going to call the Guardians ahead of time?" Azami asked as we continued to fly towards the school.

I shook my head, which was a rather useless action considering that I was currently flying through the air and Azami was inside me. "No. I'm hoping that Amu will show up before many – or, better yet, any – of the others show up. Then I only have to deal with her once she cleanses the eggs."

"You don't really believe that they won't all show up at about the same time, do you?"

I smiled as Seiyo came into my line of sight. I sped up, aiming to land on the roof. "No, not really. But a girl can hope, can't she?"

The X-energy inside me seemed to cringe at the word and Azami, sensing it, said, "Not if the X-energy has anything to say about it, apparently."

"After tonight, it won't have anything to say about it. Hopefully," I said as I finally landed, the X-eggs I had with me coming to a stop just above me and hovering like my own personal thundercloud of doom and destruction. "Anyway, I guess all we've got to do now is wait."

I didn't have to wait long. Soon, all of the Guardians had gathered. And they came prepared: by the time they were all bursting through the gates that locked Seiyo up for the night, they were already character transformed and, apparently, sufficiently mentally prepared enough not to gape at the intimidating cloud of X-eggs above my head.

"Miyuki! What's going on?" Amu shouted up to me. "What is Easter planning to do with all those X-eggs?"

I didn't bother flying down to talk to them on eye-level. Even with my current level of power, I would need the advantage of height to hold all six of them off. Not to mention, it didn't seem like they'd be able to see my scales in the dark of the night from this distance, which was an added bonus. "Actually, nothing," I replied to Amu. "Easter finished its experiments on them. And since the experiments were finished, I asked if I could take them back here to be purified by you."

"Don't do it, Amu," Tadase said, glowering up at me. "It's got to be a trap. She's lying."

"So, what? You're just going to leave all the X-eggs as they are? That's pretty cruel," I said. "What's going to make you believe me? They're normal X-eggs, you can see that. There isn't even an X-chara among them. Hey, I know – I'll fly away and leave them to you. You hear that, X-eggs? You'd better stay here and behave, or I'll crush every single one of you. Got it?"

The cloud shrunk as the X-eggs huddled together, cowering in fear of the threat that they sensed I would willingly carry out.

I opened my wings, preparing to take off and fly just out of sight; I doubted that the Guardians' charas would be able to sense whether or not Azami and I had really left, what with this giant heap of X-eggs taking up their attention. However, just before I leapt, a chillingly cheery voice suddenly echoed through my right ear, coming from the communicator:

"Hey, Miyuki-chan! Guess who it is?"

I paled, and my wings drooped a bit, though I was so stunned by the sound of my sister's voice that I couldn't think well enough to fold my wings back up or, alternately, fly away as fast as I could. I think the Guardians probably shouted up at me, asking what was going on; but I ignored them as my sister continued –

"Yep! It's me! I'm glad that you're so happy to hear your older sister's voice after nearly a month of not talking to me!" She giggled a bit. "Anyway, guess what? I got that silly little crystal that Easter's had for so long! They were so caught up with tonight's operation that their security was lax. Isn't this exciting? You don't have to do what they say anymore!"

I shook my head, not wanting it to be true, but knowing that somehow, it probably was. If she really was going to give it back to me as she had teased before, then this would be good news; however, I doubted this would be the case.

"I can see you don't believe me, Miyuki-chan… Well, let me prove it to you, then!"

Before I could prepare myself, the Darkness rushed through me, ripping me out of my character transformation and causing me to collapse to the roof. But it was much, much different than it ever had been before. The mental despair, though still present, was much diminished; whereas the physical effects were more pronounced than I had thought possible. Every single scale on my body was like a prick of red-hot pain that was closing in on me, as if trying to crush me. I yelled as I frantically tried to claw away the scales on my face, which were the most painful; but though I managed to scrape a scale or two off, all I really managed to do was create several bloody furrows on my face.

After a few seconds, the pain abruptly faded, and I once again became conscious enough of my surroundings to see Amu flying up towards me. Instinctually, I willed the X-eggs to block her, which the huge cloud easily managed – but not before Amu got close enough to get a good look at me.

"Miyuki, what's happened to you?" Amu asked. "You don't even look human anymore! Is that from the X-energy?"

Now that they knew that something was up, the other Guardians were able to discern what Amu had seen. Mai suddenly shouted out, "Miyuki, let her purify you! Amu can help!"

"Yes, indeed she can!" said my sister's voice in my ear. "But not yet. Miyuki, I'll give you back your little crystal, but first I want you to get the Embryo! Of course, you're doing all the work, so go ahead and use it for yourself. I just want to see what happens! So I'd suggest you transform again, right away… We wouldn't want my finger slipping and sending another current of energy through your crystal now, would we? You might completely ruin your beautiful face next time."

I turned to Azami, who was having just as much trouble as me recovering from the first time. "We've got to transform again. She wants us to get the egg and use it for ourselves."

Azami didn't question the order until the strength of our transformation filled me, and she was once again inside me. "But why would she want that?"

The words of Kazuomi echoed through my head. I had thought that they were lies then, but maybe… "Kazuomi said the X-energy and the Embryo would mix badly. Maybe they really will."

"But if it's really something that grants wishes, then maybe it can purify us and still give us power," Azami said.

"Either way, do we have much of a choice?" I said, terribly conscious of the painful gashes on my face and the blood that dripped down over my dark scales. "I might just rip my face off next time, and I wouldn't be able to help it at all."

"Miyuki! Answer us!" Mai shouted, once again drawing my attention to the continued confusion of the Guardians.

I sighed. "Well, might as well get this over with. X-eggs, you all stay up here," then, without warning, I jumped down for the roof, using my wings to catch the air and slow my fall, then flapping them hard just before I hit the ground.

All the Guardians except for Mai jumped back warily, putting some distance between themselves and where I hit the ground. However, I had no intention of fighting – not yet, at least.

"Listen, just purify the X-eggs," I said to Amu, my voice seemingly tired. I wanted to be done with all this. I was fed up with everyone around me manipulating me; perhaps, after tonight, I'd figure out some way to be completely free of it all. But for now, I had no choice but to follow my sister's orders. "I promise that they're just normal X-eggs. Nothing bad is going to happen just because you purify them. But please, just let me fly to a safe distance first. I don't really want to think about how painful the reaction between the light and my scales would be."

Without waiting for a response, I flapped back into the air, circling higher and higher until I was far above the cloud of X-eggs. Soon, the eggs were entirely engulfed in light; and what little light that still ended up coming towards me caused an unpleasant tingling sensation to run down my scales.

I ignored the feeling and scanned the air below me frantically, searching for something that I now realized was completely unknown to me – Easter hadn't even bothered to tell me what it had looked like back at the carnival. At first, I could distinguish little in the haze of golden glow that emanated from the newly-purified eggs.

Then, finally, something caught my eye – a bright, sparkling egg much more active than the rest, seemingly darting among the center of the cloud of egg, only some of which were beginning to disperse.

At the same moment I saw it, I also heard Tadase's voice cry out, "Is that… the Embryo!" And as I began to dive towards the shining egg in the next moment, I saw a black shadow of a person racing from tree branch to tree branch towards the school. It was Ikuto, I knew. He was probably planning to jump from the school top to the egg. And in that very same moment, I also saw a blur of pink darting straight towards the glowing egg. Amu, too, was racing towards the elusive dream that both the Guardians and Easter had been aiming at for months.

We might have converged on the egg at the same time, if all of us played fair. I, however, intended to get the egg for myself, regardless of my wariness of my sister's sugar-coated orders. If it really could grant wishes, then it had to be able to help me, somehow. I already had the advantage of momentum, since I was diving towards our goal; it barely slowed me down to throw my black fire towards my competition. Some of the balls of flame hit eggs still hovering nearby, destroying them on contact; Ikuto, who had reached the roof of the school by this time, managed to avoid them by blocking them with a scythe, costing him precious time; and Amu was so intent on the egg that she didn't see the incoming threat. They hit her head-on, and she began to fall back towards the ground. I didn't think about how hurt she might be now.

Instead, I focused all my thoughts on my dream as my fingers closed around the glowing egg.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. For that moment, the egg didn't feel like an X-egg, or an egg of the heart. It was just an egg, sitting there, waiting expectantly as if it, too, wanted to see just exactly what dream would hatch from it.

_I want to be a dragon. A true dragon,_ I thought instinctually, as if in answer to an unasked question. _I want to be able to tear apart the people who bind me to them. I want to be my own person. I want to be powerful. I want to be free. I want to spread my wings, and I want fire to flow freely, should I call upon it. More than anything else, this is what I desire._

Then the moment ended.

I was hanging in the air, floating, my wings limp; my hands were clasped around nothing. Power like nothing I had ever experienced before shot through me, making every nerve in my body feel supercharged. Guardians, Easter, my sister – nothing could stand against me. Nothing.

But something was struggling with the power, at first fighting it, then corrupting it. The power filling me suddenly became laced with X-energy. The power no longer felt wonderful; instead, it was a curse, poisoning me more as every precious second passed by. My soul felt suffocated by the power now, rather than enlivened. And, as the power grew and pulsed within me, it took on a life of its own, shaping my body to its corrupted whims.

My bones cracked as they reshaped and realigned themselves; flesh and scale seemed to bubble up as I grew larger. My neck lengthened into that of some despicable snake; my eyes, already reptile-like, became ever more predatory and demonic; every free bit of skin sprouted scales even thicker and heavier than those that had grown previously. My mouth lengthened into a fanged snout perfect for tearing through skin and bone. My sharp nails turned into true claws, hard as diamond though not anywhere near as beautiful.

And soon, before the physical changes were quite finished, my mind as I knew it was entirely engulfed by the swirling push and pull of the power of X-energy and dreams combined.

The only thing that remained of me – the true me – was the necklace that, though tiny in comparison to the beast that was at the shoulders nearly twice the size of a horse, still hung around my neck nonetheless.

The dragon that roared in the night as she flapped her wings was no longer me. My human self, even as bolstered as it was by Azami's willpower, had been unable to handle the change; a mix of draconic instinct tainted with X-energy was all that was left.

"Miyuki!" Mai shouted up. She was the first one to recover from the shock of the transformation. "Miyuki! Please, please answer me!"

I didn't hear her. Or if I did, I ignored her. I was a creature of instinct now, yet it was an informed instinct. I could still think, and I could still reason logically. Yet any thoughts and reason that I had were focused towards one goal: the cessation of the hunger that had come over me. I sniffed the air and smelled something delicious; I barely even looked as I snapped out my head, swallowing five nearby eggs in one gulp. As I felt the crushed dreams slide down my long throat, I growled with satisfaction.

I had found the one thing that could ease my hunger.

The other eggs were fleeing now, returning to wherever their respective humans were; I flapped my massive wings hard as I flew to catch up with them, neck outstretched to gather them up as soon as possible. My scales seemed to glisten, despite how the blackness of the night should have swallowed them from view. But I had no mind for noticing the majesty of my new appearance.

I had swallowed maybe a dozen more eggs when I became frustrated with how many were escaping. I let out a roar as I flew, and with the noise came massive, billowing clouds of heavy, pitch-black smoked. My breath quickly covered all of the area beneath me, and hundreds of X-eggs floated upwards, drifting slowly towards me.

I snapped a few up. They were good, but not as delicious as the pureness of the purified eggs. I snapped a few more up regardless. They satisfied the hunger. That was all that mattered.

Pain suddenly shot through me as a bright beam of Amu's purifying light hit me in the back, causing all the X-energy tainted power within me to roil in agony. I snapped my head up and would have incinerated her right then and there, if not for the ropes that all of a sudden ensnared my neck and pulled it in a different direction, causing the intense blast of fire that came from my maw to pass off harmlessly towards the dark clouds above.

I flapped all the harder and thrashed my neck, easily snapping the ropes that held me. Enraged, I dove towards Rima, the reason why I had been unable to retaliate against Amu. I would have ripped her to shreds with no qualms whatsoever, but at the last moment, Tadase jumped in the way, his usual scepter replaced with a cold metal of a bared blade. Rather than fall upon the point and kill both myself and the two humans, I changed direction and landed hard just in front of Tadase.

"Miyuki, snap out of it!" I heard Mai say from somewhere at my side. I momentarily shifted my head slightly, to look at her while keeping my eyes on Tadase, who still had his sword at the ready; but when I looked over at her, neither she nor Yaya next to her seemed like much of a threat. I turned my head fully back to Tadase and let out a breath of dark flame. Yet the flame seemed to get deflected around the point of the sword, which was acting much like the normal shields that Tadase was able to produce.

My inferno was cut short, however, as another blast of purifying energy hit me, this time in the back of the head. I snapped my head back upward but to face Amu once again, in another moment, the sharp steel of a blade pierced my shoulder. I roared in pain and instinctually let a huge quantity of smoke billow from my mouth as I pranced backwards. The sword was pulled out of me by Tadase's firm grip, but he could do nothing in the darkness of the smoke to attempt another similar blow.

"Miyuki! Don't let the X-energy control you! This isn't who you really are, I know it!" Amu shouted at me from above, foolishly drawing my attention back to her. Shifting most of my weight to my hind legs, I leapt into the air and breathed out a jet of fire towards the flying pest; she just barely managed to escape the searing attack.

"Amu, her mind is gone! It's not Miyuki anymore!" Rima shouted up at Amu, who was now desperately attempting to avoid me as I flew after her, periodically lunging my head out whenever she seemed close enough to catch. Each time, she darted just out of my reach before I could clench my jaws around her body.

"Mashiro-san is right!" Tadase enjoined as Rima sent her ropes once again flying toward me, to stop me before I could hurt Amu. "We can't mess around anymore! She'll kill us! She's not even human anymore!"

The ropes slowed me, but I once again snapped them easily. And, as I did so, I lost interest in my persecutors. A great number of X-eggs floated in the sky around me, causing me to salivate. How could I focus on a few human annoyances when such a buffet waited to satiate my hunger?

I once again began to eat up the X-eggs, all of which were naturally drawn to the X-energy within me despite the fear they had that I would destroy their existences.

"How can you say that, Hotori-san? How can you say that's not Miyuki?" Mai asked, tears in her eyes; my sharp ears heard her words, but paid them no mind as I ate up some more X-eggs. "It's still Miyuki! I know it! And I'll prove it to you, too!"

Using the quill that she carried with her chara-nari, she wrote the characters for my name and shot them through the air, so that they hit me right in the center of my exposed stomach.

For the briefest of moments, my mind cleared, and I was once again Miyuki. Moreover, I was the Miyuki who had existed before all the Darkness and manipulation, the human both was confident in who she was and who desired to be something more. I turned my head to look at Mai, the only person here who was good enough of a friend to have jerked me back into true consciousness. She met my eyes, and I knew that she saw that for just a second the human me was back in control.

Then the clarity faded, and my instinct once again took over. I found myself looking at the young, simple girl in an elegant light blue dress, with hair that was decorated with little feathers. It occurred to me that she and all the other Guardians smelled just as delicious as the purified eggs of the heart. Perhaps they were even more delectable. There was only one way to find out.

I shot like an arrow towards her, my hungry mouth agape. She stood on the ground, paralyzed in the face of the monstrosity that flew towards her. But yet again, my intentions were thwarted, this time by a swarm of yellow rubber ducks that filled my mouth and flew towards my eyes, temporarily blinding me and forcing me into a crash landing. I must have gone just to the side of Mai, because as I hit the ground I felt my tail slam into her relatively frail body, sending her flying off in one direction.

"There's got to be a way to purify her!" Amu said as her Heart Rod hit my head with a solid thunk, knocking my head to the ground for just long enough for Rima to bind my neck against the concrete street I had landed on. I tried to get up, but with two of my legs pinned against my body, I was in an awkward, not very advantageous position. For the moment, at least, I was trapped.

"But how can we purify her?" Tadase countered; I eyed him warily as he approached, his sword extended. "You can only purify charas and eggs. At this rate, it doesn't seem like Azami will reappear."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a very bruised and battered Mai struggling to her feet. "Her necklace!" she managed to gasp out before Tadase, who looked positively murderous, could get any closer. "I saw it when she lunged at me – it's still there, around her neck. It contains a huge part of her soul, and it's what her sister was threatening her with. Purify that, and maybe it'll save Miyuki!"

"Oh, um, right!" Amu said, running forward towards where my necklace lay against my scales.

Then, out of nowhere, another voice spoke up. A voice that, though it no longer chilled me to the bone, still belonged to someone who held a great deal of power over me. "That's quite enough of all that. Miyuki-chan, up you get!"

The X-energy roiled inside me, and I thrashed in pain, finally managing to snap the ropes the held me. I snarled and stood up defensively, scanning my surroundings for the source of my pain. I had enough memory of my life as a human to know that the voice was my sister's, and that the pain I'd just experience was due to the soul crystal that was still in her possession.

"You want to kill me again, don't you, Miyuki-chan? That's so exciting!" Sara said. I finally picked out her form, sitting among the branches of one of the many large trees that grew alongside the road. "But really, don't you think these silly Guardians would make a much better snack than me? At least take care of them first. That's the sort of entertainment I came here to see!"

She was forced to jump over to another tree as my blast of fire incinerated the one she had been sitting on until a second ago. Still, she had a point; my hunger was mounting with each passing second that I didn't have something traveling down my serpentine throat. I turned towards the Guardians, all of whom quickly regrouped to ward off the attack they could see I was planning.

All of whom, that is, except for Mai, who remained standing apart from them.

I looked at her for a few moments, fearing a trap. My doubts, however, were lessened when Tadase shouted out, "Tamiya-san, what are you doing? Get over here!"

They started to run over to her, but she shouted at them. "Stop! I know what I'm doing! Just don't let the opportunity go to waste!" And then, turning back to me, she said in a voice so quiet that I barely heard her, "Are you really so hungry as to eat your best friend, Miyuki?"

I stalked forward slowly, eyes trained on her while my ears listened for any sign of a trap.

The girl in front of me smiled in the face of the beast that lumbered towards her. "I take that as a yes. In that case, I just hope that you enjoy your meal. I'm here for the taking."

I needed no further encouragement. I suddenly sped up, lunging towards her, prepared to sink my fangs into her body. Yet my focus wasn't so single-minded that I didn't see Amu preparing to blast me with another huge wave of cleansing energy, this time aimed at my one vulnerable spot: my necklace. Seeing what was about to happen, I spread my wings and flew upwards at the last moment, abandoning my prey.

Amu swung her beam of light to try to compensate for my new course, but in the process ended up hitting Mai with it instead. This had never been done before; in the past, Amu had only ever hit X-eggs and X-charas with her 'open heart' technique. Beneath me, I heard Mai gasp, as if in shock; and as I continued to fly upward, I turned my head to look down. I saw Mai on her knees, trembling uncontrollably. The rest of the Guardians rushed around her to see what had happened, and to try to help.

I returned my attention to the skies, and went back to dining on X-eggs. They were much less troublesome a snack than the humans below me, and besides, my hunger had already grown too great to withstand more battle between myself and them. I blanketed the ground beneath me with more smoke as I soared away from the humans a ways, looking for even greater amounts of X-energy to feed my hunger.

Just as I was about to close my jaws around a particularly large group of delicious-looking X-eggs, I heard a small, feathery flapping noise, and I turned my head just in time to see a baby-blue blur zoom past my head. I followed it with my eyes, catching up to it as it slowed and finally came to a stop, hovering maybe twenty feet away from me.

The blue blur had been Mai, who now – miraculously enough – had wings sprouting from her shoulder blades, made up entirely of dainty blue feathers that matched those braided into her hair.

"I'll give you one more chance to get a good meal – something better than those X-eggs, at least. It's the least I can do for you, Miyuki," she said, a bright, hopeful smile on her face. Any fear or sorrow from before was gone. "First one to fly as high as possible wins. So ready, set, go!"

She darted upwards, her wings flapping faster than those of the tiny sparrows for which Suzume was named. Once again tempted by the thought of eating a real human, transformed as she was with a real dream, I instinctually followed her. She was fast, though. Faster than me, at least. Space grew between us. I flapped harder, but even as we soared higher than even the tallest skyscraper, Mai stayed ahead of me.

Then, something changed. I heard Mai's breathing grow shorter as the air got ever thinner. And, just as her breathing nearly stopped, she disappeared into the low-hanging clouds of the night. I sped up, knowing now was my chance. Any moment now, Mai would pass out from the height, and my prey would be-

"Amu, now!"

Mai's shout warned me of the incoming danger; I had been too focused on her, and had not noticed Amu rising through the sky parallel to my own flight, just far enough away that I hadn't seen her. But the warning came too late. I could do nothing as Amu formed a heart with her hands and the bright white light flowed directly from her into my chest, right around my necklace.

I let out one final, pained roar as I felt my soul torn into tiny pieces, and then felt it put badly back together again, this time without either the X-energy that had made it so powerful or the Emrbyo's energy that had multiplied that power by such an enormous amount. Scales fell to the ground like rain; my body shrunk; the flames that burst from my maw accompanying my roar now died down to nothing. Wings, tail, horn – all disappeared, leaving me as nothing more than a weak human child, unable to keep my place in the air.

I plummeted towards the ground, only half awake enough to know that I was about to die.

"Miyuki!" Amu and Mai both shouted simultaneously as they flew for me, trying to catch up. But they were far above me by the time they truly comprehended that I was falling to my death. They wouldn't make it in time.

Perhaps in response to that realization, Amu's Humpty Lock began to glow, its light now a comforting and invigorating warmth as opposed to the terrible pain of before. It woke me up enough to feel Azami clinging to my short hair. And I felt a new power flowing through me, the same power that had for so long given Amu and the others their ability of transformation without the terrible drawbacks of the X-energy.

"What do you say we do it right this time, Azami?" I asked as we fell, barely able to hear myself over the air whipping past me as I fell.

Even without being able to see her, I knew that she was grinning. "I'd like nothing better."

The change started instinctually and naturally, using the energy of the Humpty Lock's light only as a catalyst. The power that really fueled the change this time came from myself, and Azami, and the strength that the both of us had gained after months of hardships and doubts. Now, even as I dropped ever closer to the ground, I was confident and unafraid.

I needed to be powerful now, or I would die.

And though I'd always relied on X-energy before, I now realized that I had exactly the amount of power I needed. It hadn't always been there. But it had grown and grown over time, so that now, all I'd needed was a desperate situation and the light of the Humpty Lock to unleash it.

Wings, horns, and a tail sprouted, each very much similar to my Dark Dragon transformation. Yet each was slimmer and more elegant, and of the same beautiful violet hue of Azami's hair. My clothing changed into a simpler, more natural outfit than the black dress I had become used to; instead of that dress, I now wore a tank top with a splatter pain design of purple, white, and black, as well as a pair of capris with a similar color scheme. My eyes and necklace both turned violet to match, finally expressing my soul as it was meant to be, rather than how it was under the influence of only the negative power of the X-energy.

Just before hitting the ground, the transformation finished and I spread my true wings for the first time. I caught the air easily and swooped into a high-speed flight parallel to the ground just feet below me. Then I flapped upwards, using my speed to continue flying straight, going farther and farther away from Amu and Mai, whom I heard trying to catch up to me. Some instinct drove me onwards and upwards, away from what I knew and towards a future that was fresh and exciting, as well as mysterious and frightening.

I laughed, and for once it was a joyous sound, rather than a bitter one. I felt lighter and faster than ever, as if the X-energy had been a physical, weighted burden that had been slowing down my flight, constantly dragging me down without my knowing it. I was free. Finally, free.

I was still flying away at top speed when my breath caught in my throat as a terrible shock ran through my soul. In my ecstasy, I'd nearly forgotten that my sister still held a part of my soul, in the form of Easter's crystal. Yet even this wasn't enough to end my new character transformation, and it only ended my happiness for a moment or two.

"Miyuki! Wait! Come back!" I heard one last shout from Mai far behind me, her wing beats slowing as she tired.

I let a tear or two trickle from my eyes, but I didn't slow or turn around.

"What are you crying about now?" Azami asked from inside me.

I shook my head, a sad smile on my face as I wiped the tears from my eyes. "I don't want to leave them. And I don't want to move on and run away, so long as my sister still has even a small bit of control over me."

"Then why don't we stay?" Azami asked, though I sensed that she already knew the answer. "The Guardians will help you get the last piece of your soul back. You _could_ regain the friendships you once had – not that I approve of that, or course. But if you can reclaim your soul and friendships, why fly away now?"

I rose ever higher into the night. Though in my heart I longed to return, to finish things now and be friends with Mai and Amu and return to Seiyo like nothing had ever happened, some greater desire was pulling on my heart, calling me to fly ever higher and ever farther into the dark of the night.

"Why fly?" I said, repeating Azami's question with a chuckle. "That's a silly question, especially coming from you. It's what I do best. I _am _a dragon, after all."

And that was all there was to it. Over and over during the past months, countless possibilities had been opened up to me. I had chosen a possibility of evil, and rejected my chance at good. Now that the choice was finally fully my own again, I rejected both and flew on, letting the neutral, welcoming darkness of the night swallow me entirely.

* * *

And... That's it! And, unresolved though it may seem, this is actually how I had planned on ending it for a long time, well before I lost my first surge of interest in the story. I really hope you all enjoyed it! And I'm sorry that I didn't stick with it consistently... I hope you'll forgive me for that, as well as for my rushing of these last few chapters, since I just wanted to finish. I'd love to hear what you all thought of the story over all (so long as you take into account the fact that I wasn't very into it during all the chapters after my long hiatus), so please review, if you'd be so kind!

Combining both this and Book 1, the story over all ended up being just over 300,000 words. Looking back on it, there's a lot of things I would change, and a lot of parts that I just feel stupid for ever writing. But this was the first story of any great length that I'd ever attempted writing, and I think that Miyuki and Azami shall forever and always have a special place in my heart because of that, and because I love the both of them quite a lot. ^_^ It meant a lot to me back during my sophomore year of high school, when I first started the story, and all of the support I got during those first few months of insane amounts of writing is something I'll never forget. So I thank you all for that, and I thank everyone who has read up to this point! It means a lot to me!

So... yeah. I feel like there's much more that needs to be said ('cuz seriously, even though I lost interest in it, this story irrevocably altered the course of my life by getting me interested in both writing fanfiction and writing in general), but at the same time, I think that's it. As if I haven't said it enough already, thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it!


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